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0 sats \ 7 replies \ @oliverweiss 10 Feb \ parent \ on: The World's Most Productive Intellectual BooksAndArticles
No. At least, I would say he doesn’t. However, I haven’t read everything he has written. He is highly critical of all unrealistic expectations and measures proposed to 'fight' climate change, as discussed in How the World Really Works: A Scientist's Guide to Our Past, Present and Future.
It is a dark prognosis that science can identify a threat such as climate change but our political - collective will to tackle it is not sufficient.
The short term interests/greed of merchants seem to over ride reason and long term best interests of humanity.
The markets do not solve all human problems and challenges.
Libertarians fall into denial and/or fatalism instead of proposing science based solutions.
Climate change deniers obstruct the broad consensus that is required to tackle climate change.
It seems likely now that climate change could result in a new autocratic style of politics such as China operates- this could be the only way to impose the restrictions of free market greed that are required to logically respond to climate change - as liberal western 'democracies' (now in reality crony capitalist plutocracies) have failed.
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There are some places to look for views in dissent of the mainstream narrative about planetary climate, and you could start with this guy if you're interested in that:
Also, this guy talks about sea ice:
Or if you're interested in bitcoin topics more specifically, this guy often does rounds for diffusing the awkward climate conversation talking-points:
Here's another thing that I'm intrigued by, in terms of arguments in support of non-planetary reasons for temperature fluctuations through history:
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I was an ecophiliac for a long time before I became skeptical of "the science" telling me how to shop and who to vote for
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Sounds like you are another reality denying climate change skeptic.
In stark contrast Vaclav Smil academic hero of @denlillaapan acknowledges the reality of climate change, but also recognises the inherent reluctance of many people to recognise it acknowledge it and act upon it in a responsible manner as people are often ignorant, misguided, short sighted and selfish...
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your profile states:
Interested in new ideas and positive people who are not afraid to face facts and engage in a robust contest of ideas.
Your framing of my position does not make you sound particularly positive, or interested in ideas that you're not committed to holding.
Are you an expert in these topics? Or are you parroting something you read somewhere? "climate change skeptic" is the sort of word-spell I've heard cast from the mouths of plenty of NPCs, so it doesn't really have the impact I think you're interested in having. But who knows what you're hoping to accomplish by name calling.
Moving on...
I'm not denying reality. I don't litter, in fact I carry bags around to pick trash up when I see it on the trail. I recycle batteries and dispose of my waste responsibly. I literally hug trees. I spend a lot of time out doors, and have visited more than 100 National Parks in the US... plus other beautiful natural spaces in other countries.
I do not have any doubt that the weather (and weather trends) has changed (and continues to change) throughout history.
I'm skeptical of the suggestion that there are just two magic knobs (namely, CO2 & Methane) on that giant machine (our planet, which is not a closed system, as it exists in the context of the giant fusion reactor around which it orbits), which control it's temperature and various derivatives of that temperature (e.g. how it changes over time).
I'm skeptical of the people telling the "climate change" stories.
I'm skeptical of the way data is massaged to support arguments that humans are able to control the temperature of the planet.
I'm skeptical of people who allege malicious intent to my skepticism, and assert that they know "The One True Truth" while parroting some narrative they had bludgeoned into them. But hey... maybe I'm just a free-thinker.
The markets do not solve all human problems and challenges.
I think what you're getting at is the price of external consequences which are unaddressed by market pricing mechanisms. Those are called "externalities"
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I am pointing out that the academic who is the subject of this thread fully acknowledges the reality of HUMAN ACTIONS - primarily GHG emissions, causing climate change- primarily but not only, global warming.
He is a skeptic of those who propose solutions arguing that they under estimate the difficulty of implementing changes to a population who are not evolved to consider the long term consequences of their actions- he does not deny the problem but rather points to the natural selfishness of humans who will be very reluctant to sacrifice their standard of living/consumption levels in favour of future generations who will pay for the majority of the 'externalities' (consequences) of the current populations GHG emissions.
Yes free markets cannot fix climate change because the externalities are not accounted for in the way free markets operate. This is why Libertarians hate climate change- because it logically requires a collective action response rather than a market response.
If we give any credence to Vaclav Smils prognosis, and I do largely agree with him- the biggest problem here is the reluctance of selfish individuals and communities and their natural desire to avoid and evade action now to protect and preserve a viable or reasonable future climate for future generations- so- the Libertarians who frequently mouth the rhetoric of climate change denial, seeking to sow doubt and FUD about there being any need to take action are very much a large part of the problem.
They (you included) are preaching a dishonest self serving rhetoric that obstructs any meaningful action being taken in response to the very real threat and reality of climate change.
They are irrational selfish, mouthing dangerous lies that resist the collective action required for an effective response to climate change.
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