More voices from the middle - climate change edition

[VikingsGuy]

Ignore the Fake Climate Debate

The deniers and alarmists may make headlines, but behind the scenes, an expert consensus is taking shape on how to respond to global warming.

www.wsj.com

[Updated with link that may resolve "paywall" problem]

 

[come2elmo]

WSJ paywall is going to limit access to this one. Might need to share the highlights

 

[Clam]

Excellent Essay, thank you!

 

[VikingsGuy]

WSJ paywall is going to limit access to this one. Might need to share the highlights

Updated link - maybe this one will work.

 

[Sytes]

The Breakthrough Institute's Inconvenient History with Al Gore

by Paul D. Thacker While sometimes functioning as shadow universities, think tanks have been exposed as quasi lobbying organizations, with little funding transparency. Recent research has also pointed out that think tanks suffer from a lack of intellectual rigor. A case in point is the...

ethics.harvard.edu

 

[VikingsGuy]

The Breakthrough Institute's Inconvenient History with Al Gore

by Paul D. Thacker While sometimes functioning as shadow universities, think tanks have been exposed as quasi lobbying organizations, with little funding transparency. Recent research has also pointed out that think tanks suffer from a lack of intellectual rigor. A case in point is the...

ethics.harvard.edu

Ok. But do you agree or disagree with the general sentiment of the original article? If this was a factual or scholarly article demanding specific policy changes I would worry more about the qualifications of the authors, but it is an opinion piece that argues there is a viable middle path on the issue and I believe that to be true but rarely see it uttered.

 

[BigHornRam]

I am not listening to what some capitalist tool at the WSJ has to say.........

 

[VikingsGuy]

I am not listening to what some capitalist tool at the WSJ has to say.........

Not a WSJ editorial board member - a guest submission, but either way I hope you read from the NYTimes and the WSJ - perspective is a gift.

 

[BigHornRam]

Not a WSJ editorial board member - a guest submission, but either way I hope you read from the NYTimes and the WSJ - perspective is a gift.

I read it and agreed with most of it. Just jerking you chain VG.

 

[Sytes]

Ok. But do you agree or disagree with the general sentiment of the original article? If this was a factual or scholarly article demanding specific policy changes I would worry more about the qualifications of the authors, but it is an opinion piece that argues there is a viable middle path on the issue and I believe that to be true but rarely see it uttered.

Agree w/ the sentiment, through current technology advances, Exxon/Mobil type focus for the future sources of power is quality.
I'm suspect of their intent. Opinion pieces typically hold that intent.
Meh, who knows... Maybe they are the true, *honest, and non partisan driven lobbying / Think Tank of today.

 

[daltrix99]

That was a breath of fresh air to read about a topic that is usually contaminated with bias and obstinance, as the article points out. (Including on this site).

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

"The world will tackle this problem the way that it tackles most other problems, partially and incrementally, by taking up the challenges that are right in front of us—adaptation, economic development, energy modernization, public health—and finding practical ways to address them. "

Great line.

Agree w/ the sentiment, through current technology advances, Exxon/Mobil type focus for the future sources of power is quality.
I'm suspect of their intent.

Me too, I think companies like Shell are actually trying to evolve into energy conglomerates, but I think Exxon is attempting to do some green washing in order to keep institutional investors with SRI mandates.

 

[dannyb278]

well written. A bit more sensationalist, but i also really like this one. It makes me think about a future that combines advanced growing technology with a more old time reality of extremely local food production.

For instance, i live in a community of 20,000. Rather than truck cans of tomato's in to the local grocery store, we have more than enough agricultural land in the area to grow all the food necessary for the community, but that only works if the means of production are managed by the community itself.

What if We Stopped Pretending the Climate Apocalypse Can Be Stopped?

The climate apocalypse is coming. To prepare for it, we need to admit that we can’t prevent it.

www.newyorker.com

 

[Tradewind]

Virtue signaling Friday

 

[SAJ-99]

I think the article is fine, i guess, whatever. Two sides yelling at each other is not productive, but the author has a lot of assumptions that I can guarantee are wrong, just can't tell you which way or degree. The problem is that no one wants to pay for anything. Case in point Miami-Dade County FL. Here are the highlights from the .org link (which is essentially a group of "concerned citizens" that are for the bond). The ability of developed countries to respond to the effects of climate change seem to be questionable.

- IN FLORIDA, JUST 4 INCHES OF SEA LEVEL RISE HAVE INCREASED FLOODING BY 400% IN THE LAST 10 YEARS
- The Miami Forever bond is a $400M general obligation bond that will pay for projects to protect our homes and property from sea level rise flooding and increase affordable housing.
- With the passing of the bond, your current tax rate will not increase. In fact, at the same time the City Commission voted to put this bond on the ballot, they also significantly lowered the tax rate. The average homeowner will actually pay $55 less next year.

Does no one ask how they are going to pay for this? I love free stuff as much as the next person, but c'mon.

Miami Forever Bond Project to Mitigate Effects of Sea Level Rise

Mayor Francis Suarez and City leaders marked a major milestone in Miami’s long-term climate resilience efforts today when they broke ground on the first Miami Forever Bond program project to combat sea-level rise and flooding.

www.miamigov.com

Miami Forever

Thank you Miami: You voted YES for the 400 million dollar general obligation bond.

www.miamiforever.org

 

[VikingsGuy]

more old time reality of extremely local food production.

For instance, i live in a community of 20,000. Rather than truck cans of tomato's in to the local grocery store, we have more than enough agricultural land in the area to grow all the food necessary for the community, but that only works if the means of production are managed by the community itself.

What if We Stopped Pretending the Climate Apocalypse Can Be Stopped?

The climate apocalypse is coming. To prepare for it, we need to admit that we can’t prevent it.

www.newyorker.com

Thanks for the added info. I appreciate your perspective but it definitely doesn’t align with mine - primarily:

A. Extremely local food production isn’t so great for those areas with 4 seasons (I actually like fresh fruits and veggies in my diet in February).
B. Local food production tends to have lower productivity for most crops which means per calorie produced it uses more water and generates more CO2.
C. I reject that public ownership of “means of production” works at anything beyond niche/micro-scale. History has many many examples of this not working.

 

[BrentD]

Ignore the Fake Climate Debate
The deniers and alarmists may make headlines, but behind the scenes, an expert consensus is taking shape on how to respond to global warming.



...

Such conclusions are unlikely to satisfy the noisy participants in the fake climate debate. But the utopian dreams of those who wish to radically reorganize the world to stop climate change are not a plausible global future. Nor will denying the relationship between carbon emissions and global warming make the real risks of climate change go away. The world will tackle this problem the way that it tackles most other problems, partially and incrementally, by taking up the challenges that are right in front of us—adaptation, economic development, energy modernization, public health—and finding practical ways to address them.

—Mr. Nordhaus is the founder and executive director of the Breakthrough Institute and a co-author of “An Ecomodernist Manifesto.”

 

[VikingsGuy]

So much for respecting copyrights . . . .

 

[BrentD]

So much for respecting copyrights . . . .

point taken... I waffled and perhaps made the wrong choice.

 

[WyoDoug]

I am on the fence. I am not convinced that climate change is man caused or can be changed entirely or in large part by man. I think it is evolving as it has done for centuries. I am not convinced that man is innocent of damaging the environment and contributing to climate change. All that garbage dumped into the sea by China, India and other countries has to be causing damage to the ecosystem. I think more scientific study needs to be done by experts who do not address it with an agenda in mind but go after the truth. When I look at the studies so far, what causes me to question them is who funded the studies. Most agencies I know of that fund these studies are after a desired result so they can promote their vision of climate control. I want to hear the truth about it not what the right or left say, but with really hard nonpartisan scientific studies.