PRI Hates Polar Bears?!

25 Oct, 2010 by CalWatchdog Staff

Debbie Bitzan:

Heads up California, there was a climate crime scene at the San Francisco Ritz Carlton today.

Ignoring the fact that, in 2005, the SF Ritz was the first hotel in the world to embrace the ultra-green UTC Power’s PureComfortTM 240 power solution, and that their “house” car is a hybrid vehicle, Greenpeace protesters deemed the Ritz-located, Pacific Research Institute luncheon featuring Arthur Brooks of AEI a “climate crime scene.”

According to one of the young ladies standing outside the Ritz, the criminal aspects of today’s activities at the hotel included the following:

* That PRI (CalWatchdog’s parent think tank) is a “Koch-funded” organization

* Koch Industries is an oil company

* PRI “does not care about the polar bears”

* We MUST stop letting oil companies push us around!

She also briefly mentioned our recent study on the employment effects of Prop 23, but the issue was obviously not her strongpoint. It’s a good thing I was distracted by their elaborate costumes, because otherwise I may have asked her a question of substance. Seeing as to how she was waxing philosophically to me about PRI’s lack of care for cold-weather mammals while I was wearing my PRI name badge only increased my amusement at her “activism.”

It wasn’t until two protesters disrupted the actual luncheon that my amusement turned into irritation. Not only did they know nothing about PRI’s work (which they should if they’re spending their time crashing our events), but they interrupted our event in a classless and disorganized manner.

Standing up in a room full of people who disagree with you and shouting is no way to engage opposition in intellectual debate. I highly doubt many Greenpeace events have been interrupted by protesters — otherwise they would realize how ridiculous and inefficacious their tactics truly are.

Stomping and stammering when something isn’t going your way only works for those under the age of 10, and even then it usually results in grounding or a time-out.

Oh, and I like polar bears. So back off.

OCT. 25, 2010