If the climate is depressing you then please consider that, while there remain reasons for concern, there's strong new ground for optimism:
- Temps unlikely to rise above 3°
- Crop yields rise at 4°+
- Weather-related deaths declining even for poor e.g. Bangladesh
THREAD
- Temps unlikely to rise above 3°
- Crop yields rise at 4°+
- Weather-related deaths declining even for poor e.g. Bangladesh
THREAD
If we genuinely care about the risks of climate change, and are not simply using the issue as a stalking horse to advance some other agenda, then it is important that we pay close attention to new developments and forecasts in energy, forests, agriculture, and resilience.
Over the last year I wrote a series of articles reviewing the state of the science
As a result, I was invited by IPCC to become an Expert Reviewer of its next major Assessment Report, AR6, to be finished in 2022, and to testify before Congress, which I did in January
As a result, I was invited by IPCC to become an Expert Reviewer of its next major Assessment Report, AR6, to be finished in 2022, and to testify before Congress, which I did in January
It is understandable that so many people, including young people, feel anxious and depressed about climate change, given the apocalyptic, one-sided news media coverage of the issue over the last 20 years.
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
If, after covering climate change for years or decades, you still have no answer to the demand from young people for "hope & optimism" and "how to fix things" and your answer is, "sorry, we're doomed," then you are not reporting on science, you're lost in an apocalyptic fiction.
Start with Bangladesh. It offers huge grounds for optimism.
Bangladesh has been degraded by alarmists for decades as a climate basket case — doomed to rising sea levels.
Guess what? Cyclone-related mortality in Bangladesh declined 100-fold in 4 decades, from 500k to 4k
Bangladesh has been degraded by alarmists for decades as a climate basket case — doomed to rising sea levels.
Guess what? Cyclone-related mortality in Bangladesh declined 100-fold in 4 decades, from 500k to 4k
If you're giving lectures to young people about climate change, and you're not mentioning what's happened in Real World Bangladesh, and you're only instead talking about Apocalyptic Fantasy Bangladesh, then you're doing it wrong.
It's a story of hope, not despair.
It's a story of hope, not despair.
If you're giving lectures on climate change without mentioning that natural gas and nuclear have been reducing emissions in rich nations for over a decade, and that nuclear could eliminate them while increasing economic growth, then you're doing it wrong.
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
forbes.com/sites/michaels…
If you're giving lectures on climate change without mentioning that temperatures are highly unlikely to rise above 3°, and that catastrophic climate scenarios depend on temperatures of 4-5°, then you're misinforming people by omission.
forbes.com/sites/rogerpie…
forbes.com/sites/rogerpie…
There are plenty of risks from climate change that we should be aware of, for human societies and habitat for wildlife, but nobody is well-served by one-sided, exaggerated, misleading, and depressing depictions of the science. They are inaccurate and unhealthy.
A more accurate view of the science is also a more inspiring and energizing one
- Human societies are increasingly resilient to disasters & change
- New fuels/techs (e.g. wood->coal->gas->uranium) radically reduce pollution & other environmental impacts
- Human societies are increasingly resilient to disasters & change
- New fuels/techs (e.g. wood->coal->gas->uranium) radically reduce pollution & other environmental impacts
- More economic growth = more food produced on less land = more room for nature & wildlife
Climate change isn't depressing; our one-sided, exaggerated, & apocalyptic depictions of it are.
/end
Climate change isn't depressing; our one-sided, exaggerated, & apocalyptic depictions of it are.
/end
