Why climate change is good for the world

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9057151/carry-on-warming/?s

by newnewnew • 13 years ago

12 10 13 years ago

spectator.co.uk

bonemachine• 13 years ago

I don't get it -- was that supposed to be satire?

Either way, such claptrap

casca• 13 years ago

There are many decisions that need to be made around climate change. Is it worth the cost (financial, lifestyle, environmental) to mitigate it by reducing energy consumption and therefore reducing growth? How much warming is acceptable? Is geo-engineering a reasonably option? Should the countries that created the existing CO^2 bear the majority of the income costs?

These are reasonably questions to be asked by those who will be affected by the change, i.e. everyone. However this debate can only happen when there's an acknowledgement that climate change is happening. Sadly there appears to be a politically influential group who deny the science out of fear of a potential outcome.

(Not implying that I agree with the article, just that exploring these questions is a good thing)

mikeyouse• 13 years ago

Wow is that a terrible article.

The comments on the spectator website get to the point, but 'Scientific Consensus' isn't one single person reviewing a dozen papers and deciding climate change isn't a big deal.

Cherry-picking a few areas where humans will benefit doesn't just negate the rest of the (mostly unknown) impacts. Fewer people will die in the cold? The presence of cold doesn't kill people, it's the lack of protection from the cold caused by failed governments and failed economic systems. Flooding doesn't matter since we can just build dykes? Ugh.

There are actual existential threats (looking at you ocean acidification) to the survival of humanity, but it'll be warmer and we can build dams, so NBD.

astrobe_• 13 years ago

You could have just stopped at "mostly unknown impacts", or rather "unpredictable effects". Because the heart of the problem, and I think the debates between pro and anti climate change perfectly illustrates it, is that we don't exactly know what will happen if we push the ecosystem too far from the current equilibrium.

lifeisstillgood3• 13 years ago

For US readers : the Spectator is a well regarded but self consciously right wing magazine, most famously edited by the current London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The article is a rehash of the arguments proposed by (cited) Bjorn Lomborg - who rose to fame / notoriety with "The environmental Skeptic" (not sure if have title right there).

He is a economist who does make sensible arguments about needing to take into account the costs and benefits of climate change - which I do agree with. I only am suspicious of who said the reasonable and sensible comment - it's like the difference between Lech Walensa saying the workers should organise and Lenin saying it.

I am however, heartened by the fact that right wing magazines in the UK accept climate warming, accept it as human caused, merely argue if we need to do something. Which apparently puts us a long way ahead of the Republicans.

glenra2• 13 years ago

The IPCC reports say pretty much the exact same thing, if you filter out the spin. In particular, the "impact" part of their reports says the next 1-3 degrees of warming will on-net increase agricultural productivity - it'll be easier to feed the world. If you look at the underlying studies the biggest positive impacts seem to be: (1) In the northern regions that currently produce the most food, warming means longer growing seasons means more food. (2) Near the equator where it's too hot to grow most crops, extra CO2 makes growing trees much more productive.

lifeisstillgood3• 13 years ago

great - now all we have to do is make sure we stop at 1-3 degrees,and we are all sorted :>

ryandvm• 13 years ago

So... hypothetical question for the climate change activists: What if tomorrow we found conclusive evidence that global warming was completely natural? (I'm not suggesting it is, this is just a hypothetical.)

Would we still try to enact legislation to alter the projected change?

Why climate change is good for the world

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