Yeah, stupid question, but there's politics in there as well somewhere (not with you but with many 'doubters').
I agree as regards the attitude of the decision makers - Blair said he wouldn't be giving up flying away for his holiday's and, yes, Gore was certaintly hypocritical - but more generally, it's not the way we live that has as much impact as the way we consume. Indiustialisation itself is the big emitter of carbon dioxide, not just in the maufacturing process, but also in terms of distribution.
Which of course is why politics is involved because whoever attempts to limit industry is going to have a sizeable and sophisticated lobby organisation standing in the way and where the democratic process is reliant on money to push it along there's always going to be a limiting factor. And, to my mind, there's a lot of money being pushed into the hands of the growing 'doubters' (not that Brian's seen any).
Is it any wonder that FoxNews asks (in its inimitable way) whether the current cold snap is proof that global warming isn't taking place. In place of a scientist it brings in a Republican senator to attack the science and the gullible right agree quickly enough and come away thinking that scientists are really liberals in disguise. But I digress...
I'm not sure that measures to alleviate global warming could become a means for the elite to manipulate the Hoi Polloi (we should be capitalised I think), simply because the elite is reliant of the rest of us to consume the goods that makes them elite in the first place. The solution, as the scientists will surely say, isn't restricted to the way individuals live but in the way a modern economy reproduces itself. Yes we can drive steam driven cars, but while those cars are being manufactured as they are and while the raw materials are being produced as they are, there won't be an adequate solution.
Past that there's the problem of capital markets that don't create anticipated profits which is what will happen when industry starts being restricted. Like water flowing downhill, capital will start racing towards the least restricted capital markets and the result might be greater industrial activity just where you dont want it.
That's the trouble with global warming; the solution needs to be global as well. Unless, of course, someone dreams up a new source of profit...
Simon----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric" <mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, February 11, 2007 8:44 PMSubject: [lit-ideas] Re: experiment that hints we are wrong on climate change
>> Reading your subtext, Eric, why do you want the science of global warming to be wrong?Gee, Simon, I want the scientific theory to be wrong because of its cataclysmic implications. I like the coastal cities and hope they don't go under. But if it is slow apocalypse we face, my wanting has nothing to do with it.>>And another question, isn't it better for the world to act as though the science is right?Yes, and this is an important caveat, provided it doesn't become another means for the elite to manipulate the hoi polloi. For example, when Gore showed up driving his Prius he had an entourage of trucks and SUVs with him. The message to me is that "the world" means you and me, but NOT the people who make significant decisions. They'll continue to ride in armored stretch-limos even as we wait for our natural gas bus.Here's the kind of media we face in the US. MSNBC will report the findings of the global study group as, "The evidence is in about global warming. And it's OUR fault!"Hogwash! Throughout my adult life, I have been extremely conservative in the use of fossil fuels and resources -- even by Euro standards. It's not MY fault per se, or YOUR fault -- if anyone is at fault it's those who make significant decisions about infrastructure, gas mileage standards, engine efficiency, smokestack cleaning, etc. Yet notice where the blame falls, not on the elite but on the hoi polloi.------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
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