The principles for which one chooses to fight for often get lost and forgotten in the 'fog of war'. Especially when you carry a battleflag of a cause in a war as broad and incendiary as the climate change war. It's inevitable as you lob and endure volleys over a great expanse of time that your original message and intent get distorted in the view of observers on all sides. Opponents and supporters alike propagandize your message for their own purposes.
At various times I am accused of advocating or attacking things I do not and would not. In fact I am in agreement with many of my presumptive attackers on key points. Once that gets out in the open, if we don't kill each other first, we end up grabbing a beer together.
To clarify, the central theme of my position on the climate is NOT any of the following:
Things Jesse does not think:
- Greenies are pansies and have nothing to of value to offer.
- Conservation is stupid.
- Guns are good(?).
- We should abandon the search for alternative fuels.
- The world is not experiencing climate change.
- All those scientists who believe man-made climate change is occurring now are dumbasses.
- The science is settled with the opinions of all those scientists who believe climate change is natural prevailing.
To clarify further,
Things Jesse thinks:
- The science of climate change is unsettled, both ways. Nothing has been 'proven'. There simply is not enough hard data to prove anything. Drawing hard, war-fighting conclusions from 100 years of increasingly better hard data lumped with 5 billion years of poor-quality inferential data is a scientifically and statistically indefensible procedure. As is dismissing the possibility we really are heating things up with our cars. Either one or both may be right. (But, which it is does not matter.)
- Resource conservation is as desirable as exploration and development of ALL energy sources.
- Free markets are remarkably effective at imposing conservation and innovation that require no apparatus.
- The earth has always experienced climate change. And always will. Naturally. Climate change is a constant reality. Note that does not mean we can't be affecting it, too. (But how did Greenland get its name?)
- Ok. Happiness is a warm gun. The distinction is really important.
- We cannot do anything but waste money trying to 'fix' climate change, regardless of the actual cause. The only productive thing to do is figure out how to live and prosper with it. Mother Nature and eco-political competition will simply trounce all of man's capabilities.
- There are a great many opportunists that want you to contribute money to them to "fix it". From politicians to billionaires. Climate change is a huge business because it has been brought to the forefront of the collective consciousness. Just like Y2K a few years back.
- #7 is bad for most of us because it will lighten your wallet while making someone else's fatter. All while not fixing anything except their bank account. Once the fix machine gains inertia it will be nearly impossible to stop. When the climate is warming, the message will be, "We need to do MORE! Give us more money.". When the climate is cooling, the message will be, "Hurray. Look at how great we are! We fixed it! We can do even more! Give us more money!".
- This is all bad for most of us in the free world because it will lighten your wallet and erode your freedom while making someone else's wallet fatter and power more concetrated. All while not fixing anything except their bank account and power base. In short, it's a ripoff and an altruism revolution full of landmines. On a global scale.
Someone needs put a spotlight on this conclusion so that people can make more informed decisions.
I am.
