Comments on: I can’t make up my mind on Global Warming…no wait, I can

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 20:08:05 +0000

I got it ;)

RE: Arbitrary

If you’re in a boat in the middle of the ocean, and somehow a hole gets punched in the side of the boat, so that it is flooding and the boat will sink in the next half-hour, is it more useful to argue about who caused the hole, or to spend time trying to bail the water and plug the hole?

The cause of the hole in this case is, “a bit arbitrary.”

RE: Crying foul

Yes conservatives would cry foul – but the point remains that from what I’ve learned in economics, our consumers and businesses do not pay the REAL price for goods and services. It’s just the way the system works – there are “externalities” that are costs that are not factored into economic decision-making.

Which is why…

RE: Meshing

It meshes because I don’t think politicians are going to make any such changes anytime soon. Consumer (and stockholder) behavior is more likely to change, and that will cause business practices to change, etc. etc. etc.

IMHO, of course.

By: Ben Adlin

Ben Adlin — Wed, 31 May 2006 22:16:33 +0000

For clarification, I mean conservative in the economic, laissez-faire, don’t-you-tell-me-what-to-do-with-my-business way.

By: Ben Adlin

Ben Adlin — Wed, 31 May 2006 22:14:56 +0000

Jason –

(1) The cause is “arbitrary”?

(2) If the political system injected these laws and regulations that accounted for environmental damages in economic terms, I think you’d see a lot of conservatives crying foul.

Also, I don’t see how this meshes with your idea of the solution coming “from economics, not politics.”

By: Hillary

Hillary — Wed, 31 May 2006 19:02:48 +0000

Have you by any chance seen the new “pro-carbon dioxide” ad?

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 31 May 2006 18:41:16 +0000

Fixed

By: Ben Adlin

Ben Adlin — Wed, 31 May 2006 09:56:29 +0000

1. The last sentence you wrote lacks a vital verb, I think.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 31 May 2006 08:27:19 +0000

I’d like to see the movie as well.

2 points:

1. Regardless of whether or not it’s a human-induced change, the change is still happening. We’re going to have to deal with the consequences, so the cause is, from that perspective, a bit arbitrary.

2. Our economic system doesn’t take into account the “externalities” that are environmental effects. If the political system established laws and regulations that realized those environmental damages in economic terms, the system would, to use the phrase, “correct itself.”

By: Ben Adlin

Ben Adlin — Wed, 31 May 2006 01:52:26 +0000

I think most people would agree that global warming (or GCC) is occurring. What I think you might have missed with this post is that the standpoint that says yes, it’s taking place, but it’s a natural phenomenon rather than a human-induced one.

I think you’re right in saying that the changes are undoubtedly going to stem from economic factors, but at the same time, I worry that our current economic system is so used to exploiting the environment and turning a blind eye to long-term consequences that, by the time we change anything about our energy/transportation/etc. practices, we’ll have caused damage that can’t be undone in time.

Good post. I really want to see An Inconvenient Truth. Too bad we’re not still in LA.