Sarcasm is good for any argument. :) For me the best argument is one of "least harm" If we act as though the global warming fear-mongers are right and they turn out to be wrong, what is the harm? If we act as if the global warming deniers are right and they turn out to be wrong, what is the harm? If we do what the GW fear-mongers suggest, we waste a lot of money and freedom on reducing CO2 output primarily through reduced use of fossil fuels. If we do what GW deniers suggest, we don't do anything. If fear-mongers are wrong we end up some possible debt some of todays established business interests no longer viable, but there will probably be new ones able to grow and lower CO2 output. Maybe China and India frosts our cookies economically. Our grandchildren go about their business much as we do today. if deniers are wrong we end up with most of the worlds population centers turned to post-Katrina New Orleans, massive economic disruption due to changed agricultural production distribution, and maybe, just maybe a slightly smaller short-term debt than we have already put into effect. I wouldn't be surprised if China and India frosts our cookies economically. Our grandchildren have a heap of trouble on their hands. That is not to mention the years of really bad paddling as the crap that floats off the newly flooded land makes a mess. In 100, 200, 1,000 and 10,000 years we are going to be judged by what we choose to do. If the fear-mongers are wrong, we will hardly be remembered - but maybe snickered at, if the deniers are wrong we will be responsible for a whole lot of blame for not avoiding something we knew about. I don't know who is right, but by the "least harm" basis I agree with the fear-mongers that we should act as though Global Warming is a Real Thing. The downside is so small as to be hardly noticeable in the long term. No matter what we do, 10,000 years from now the fossil fuel industry will no longer exist. The question to me then is: what should we do about it? And to me this is where the politics comes into it. It seems to me the deniers don't really care if they are right or wrong regarding global warming, they just don't like the suggested mechanisms for dealing with it. I don't know if cap-and-trade is a good idea. Sounds pretty contrived to me, so I don't trust it as being effective in an efficient manner. I don't want more government intervention, but when someone comes and craps in my yard, I do appreciate being able to call the police. Government regulation is bad to the extent that it stops us from doing good things, but the market is not necessarily rational, sometimes we need government to put boards up around the sandbox otherwise we will lose all our sand. I suppose you may choose otherwise if you think the worst case scenarios are different. I would be interested to hear how preparation for a false global warming will result in a worse outcome. Nick On Dec 2, 2009, at 10:05 AM, Mark Sanders wrote: > Well, you can't argue with good ol' American sarcasm! > > Mark > > ----- Original Message ----- >> I agree. If we need to balance the consequences of potential massive population dislocation as sea levels rise and wide spread famine against the consequences potential increased taxes and energy conservation, it certainly makes sense to avoid higher taxes. I hate it when we need to spend money to protect the country. After all, it is not as if any of the bad consequences of global warming will every hurt any of us. It is our grandchildren's problem. It is better to saddle them with a disrupted environment than fiscal debt. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 54 South Rd Groton, CT 06340 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Dec 02 2009 - 09:58:21 PST
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