Peter Robinson, a researcher for the Hoover Institution at Stanford, interviewed T.J. Rodgers, the founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation, about his involvement with Sun Power Corporation on the National Review's Uncommon Knowledge.
Chapter 1 has a very interesting exchange where Rodgers talks about building products that bring profits to his shareholders and mentions nothing about the 'higher good.' Clearly, these two speakers proscribe to Friedman's thoughts on business and social responsibility. If the free market is ready to embrace these technologies and they are profitable for investors, that's exciting. While it's great that solar is on the verge of having a positive ROI for investors, I'm more excited about the implications this has for society in general and the US' reliance on fossil fuels.
The question is then even if a business is in a socially responsible or green space, is that business automatically categorized as a socially responsible business? Or does being deemed a socially responsible business require clear intent on the part of the leaders of the company? I'm curious to hear what the class thinks about this.
Chapter 1 - Free Market can deliver solar
Chapter 2 - Global Warming "probably not catastrophic"
Chapter 3 - Solar reaching the point of worthwhile ROI
Chapter 4 - Political Plans and Global Warming
Chapter 5 - Energy alternatives outside solar
Chapter 4 is also interesting b/c it argues against government incentives and taxes in the energy space. If you haven't seen these two commercials, check them out. Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich in one, and Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton in the other. These seem to ask for government involvement on energy, actually more climate, issues, but are unspecific in their recommendations.
Unlikely Alliances Ad - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=25803
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