Let us Not Ignore Consequences on Nature while talking Economics

An unthinkable absent-mindedness in Equity Master

On May 7, 2015, the Equity Master introduces us, readers, with Charles Thomas Munger, the celebrated “partner” of Warren Buffet and Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, in their article "Did Charlie Munger Just Turn India's Economics Upside Down?". Mr Munger is considered to be one of the greatest philanthropists in the USA. In 2014 he donated over $65 million dollars in stocks to UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara campus) for arranging regular meeting of Physicists, their stay and related expenditures. He considers that if physicists get chances to interact among them science can develop better, new ideas can generate, as happened in some cases 100 years back in West Europe.

But what makes Mr Munger more renowned is something different. Along with Buffet, Mr Munger, popularly known as Charlie, are among the topmost investment wizards of the world with some uncanny senses. Charlie shared some of his ‘secrets’ at the DJCO meeting last March – for example, as Alex Rubalcava informed us by a tweet: "I did not succeed in life by intelligence. I succeeded because I have a long attention span." -- Munger $DJCO 10:53 PM - 25 Mar 2015.

But what is that long attention span? Is that what we call ‘taking the long view’ in common parlance? Strangely the answer is ‘No’, at maximum we can call it a different way of decision making. For example Charlie’s ‘long attention span’ taught him that 'Energy Independence' is one of the dumbest ideas of our times! This bright idea was publicised much about two years ago. (See for example Business Insider, 24 July, 2013.) He says: It is always better to import foreign oil and preserve your country’s own resources.

When Charlie was saying this, that is, in 2013, crude price was sliding from $115 mark to about $95, both OPEC price and US domestic prices like West Texas Immediate. But strangely Equity master is telling this in May 2015 when crude price is just climbing over $60 starting from a more benign $40! What is the reason of recalling this now! Does Equity Master want to advise that even if oil prices soar we should continue import increasingly and restrain domestic production?

India is always dependent on foreign oil, whatever the price is, as the following graphs will prove: (1) Crude oil Import by India (in $ billion) and 

(2) India's Domestic Production and Import of Crude Petroleum in Thousand Barrels/Day or '000 BPD)  

Source: http://marketrealist.com/2014/12/amount-crude-oil-india-produce/

These are obvious that

ü India’s oil use or demand and import are increasing rapidly; in FY 15 already the import is alarmingly high and

ü India’s domestic production of petroleum has not been increasing much since 2010.

So? What point does the Equity Master want to hit?

But nonetheless, what is rather alarming, in the whole discussion the point hovered solely on import vis-à-vis domestic-production of oil substituting import – and not at all on increasing use of petroleum, GHG emission and etc resulting hazards vis-à-vis substituting petroleum or fossil fuels, switching over to renewable and also to low-energy consuming economy reining consumption.

It is indeed strange. After more than 20 years of Rio summit, after more than 35 years of Tbilisi conference on environmental education and awareness can we discuss petroleum import vs. domestic production without mentioning impacts of our overuse of fossil fuels on nature, global warming, the infamous Delhi smog and so on and intention of substituting fossil fuels at all – that too in an article that mentions, in the beginning, about blessings of ‘mother nature’! 

Then, can it be said that the reason of not discussing these salient points is that we cannot expect all articles should be complete and comprehensive? It is up to you, the readers, to decide. But we may share our apprehension. Mr Munger and Mr Buffet are rather climate-deniers. Both in their philosophy and also in their praxis they do not bother about climate change or global warming and related ecological problems. We can just look into two evidences from very recent past, FY 2014-15:

• “I don’t think that when making an investment decision on Berkshire Hathaway, or all companies, that climate change should be a factor in the decision-making process,” Buffett said. [http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2014/05/05/buffett-sounds-off-on-being-put-in-his-place-climate-change-and-more/]
• US and Chinese companies dominate list of most-polluting coal plants | Warren Buffet-owned Berkshire Hathaway on list of top 25 companies with least efficient and oldest ‘sub-critical’ coal power plants | The Guardian [http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/13/us-and-chinese-companies-dominate-list-of-most-polluting-coal-plants]

It would indeed be fateful if one of the chief business magazines and business advisors, the Equity Master, with its 1.4 million plus members and millions of readers tilts towards such ungreen business ethics and practices as upheld by Berkshire Hathaway. Let us hope our apprehension is incorrect.  

(A version of this was published in Business Economics, June 1, 2015)