The same is true of the climate. We have a spectrum of opinion. One the one hand we have alarmists. Real extremists. They say the reality is worse than the worst case IPCC projections. Let's call them the liberals. People like Chomsky and Democracy Now have been talking about this for a long time. Then you have what you might call the centrists, represented by the IPCC. Finally on the extreme right wing end of the spectrum are the ones that say it's all a liberal conspiracy. The earth is cooling, etc. At this point we can evaluate that as well. We have enough data. We can see who had the closest models. And here it is. The truth once again was not in the middle. The conservatives are completely off the reservation.. The IPCC isn't pessimistic enough. The extremists were right again.
You have one side of our spectrum that is just completely unable to deal with reality, so when you accept what in times past has been a reasonable assumption (intelligent people evaluating the same facts have differing opinions and the truth is probably in the middle) you find that in our current political climate this assumption just can't be held. One side of this debate isn't dealing with facts and data. They have their preferences. For them that is the truth.
Below is a brief discussion of how this state of affairs came about. The theory is that authoritarians have converged into the Republican party, so now most of the people that are incapable of dealing with nuance and complexity are on the same side of the political spectrum.
Some within the GOP may get it. Let's hope more do. We need everyone on board to tackle this problem.
10 comments:
Old topic - replayed every chance you get so lets have some fun then.
Lets play the game - assume we are at the tipping point with climate. We are already at the tipping point financially so throw one more log on the fire.
What has to be done - right now today - in order to turn this around? I want specifics now according to the planet tree huggers out there - do we shut off all the lights? Confiscate all fuel burning cars? Destroy all gas powered lawn mowers - give me the low down here.
I know what I believe in that the earth has done what the earth has done for millions upon millions of years and will continue to react and change as it sees fit minus an act of God of course.
Put it on the table - I want to know exactly how my life will be affected on a daily basis.
Wish I could take credit, but this might be the best common sense statement about Climate Change I have ever heard or read. This is good and more importantly right IMO.
“I came to the conclusion there is climate change,” he wrote. “But I am yet to see definitive evidence on its severity; how much of it is human induced; how long it has been going for and how long it is likely to go for; how much is due to the solar cycle; how much is due to the all sorts of variables in oceans which cover 71 percent of the planet’s surface and for which there is no all-encompassing historical data, nor can there be, or how capable the planet is of self-correction (which seems to be the big surprise among scientists, although they seem to be constantly ‘surprised,’ yet can be so definitive on climate change..”
About Ohio - it only proves that Liberals need to only win 18 out of 88 counties to win a state.
Find the biggest concentration of people (big city) where no reasonable earning person would want to live, promise you'll give them freebies, bus them to the polling station and you'll win Ohio. Hey we are all trying to get away from the Blue suck - just look at the Politico Map by State - tiny little blue blotches surrounded by large swatches of red that cover the entire states. Did Obama win a majority of the counties in any State?
I always found this argument a little baffling, even when I was a right winger. I saw the maps showing how many counties George Bush had won and this sort of supported the "mandate" crowd. I wanted to buy off on that, but couldn't. The winner is not the one that accumulates the most square miles. You need people to vote for you, whether those people live in cities or on farms. What does the number of counties have to do with anything?
I think I'll reply to your question about what to do about global warming with a separate post. It's an interesting question.
I don't know - I think it does matter. I think that when you have 70 out of 88 counties vote in one particular way there should be some weight given to that. How many mini-governments inside those 70 counties are all conservative leaning individuals who operate and maintain their own cities should matter.
Political Spectrum :
To me there is not just left and right, but also statist (authoritarian) and libertarian. Like here. Here is one that is pretty accurately filled in with countries. I also really like this model, though it lacks some elements. Both models lack fascism and anarchy, which are at the extreme ends past statism and libertarian. They also lack elements such as the level of democracy or method of democracy.
On these scales I see the GOP and Dems as being very very close to each other. If you listen to the debates, it was mostly them arguing about who would drill more and who would expand the military more. Some issues they have disagreements (abortion, gay marriage, etc) but mostly they agree. Even on global warming, the common stance for both parties is "it exists but the economy comes first."
I think the "objective truths", if they can be found, were more likely in the 3rd party debates (watch them!), where all 4 speakers had at least a few incredible insights.
My stance on global warming :
The scientific evidence is pretty clear that the truth is much worse than the moderate view, and likely much worse than the liberal view. The effects will be massive (sorry to tell you Chad)... sources are pretty easy to find on this so I won't bother. But ask if you want.
Anyways, even if I'm wrong and it isn't that bad, here is my thought; when the fire-alarm goes off, you get out of the building. I'd much rather do something and find out it wasn't a big deal, than do nothing and find out we're all f'd.
So when my car died, I started riding a bike. I don't use plastic bags and I eat a lot less meat. I try to use less electricity and water, and have implemented strategies to do so. I also stopped flying almost completely. I'm using my youth to explore locally in the North-West (mostly by bike). On rare occasion I travel internationally, & I make sure it is a long trip (many months) & I explore the places I visit thoroughly (& again by bike if it can be safely done!)
The product of all of this? I have saved TONS of money (unbelievably so). I have kept very fit. I also became a better cook. It turns out I love to travel by bike, in my two years in Japan I got to bike around 2,700 km of coastline. It was the most fun I've had travelling, and when you're moving slow you find all sorts of great experiences you'd miss flying by in a car (I've gotten so many free meals, had so many great conversations, & found so many off-the-beaten-path gems). Engineering DIY eco-solutions turns out to be fun too. But best of all, I get to say to my kids "Hey! You know how the world is all a mess and dying? . . . You can blame someone else for that because I wasn't a part of that."
Ok... maybe I can't make that claim... despite my efforts I still have a decent carbon footprint. But at least I can say I honestly tried.
And if all of this turns out to be a liberal climate scientist conspiracy, I still have no regrets.
So that's my solution. And I'll set an example and maybe nag my friends and family a little. I'll sure as hell keep a watch on the areas I live and do whatever I can to make sure they are sustained. And I'll stand up to corporate abuse and externalization, to make sure they are kept liable as much as I can. And I'll share my beliefs publically, but I won't force them or legislate them on others.
Jon, to prepare your response to Chad on what to do, go check out Doug Henwood's Behind the News (podcast mp3) interview with Christian Parenti and his recent book.
Chad
Here's a challenge for you. If you really want to know the truth, this bit says much of it .
http://www.alternet.org/media/dear-angry-white-conservatives-mourning-romneys-loss-chill-out
It proves Jon's point that the truth (facts) is often in the middle.
Chad
Here's a challenge for you. If you really want to know the truth, this bit says much of it .
http://www.alternet.org/media/dear-angry-white-conservatives-mourning-romneys-loss-chill-out
It proves Jon's point that the truth (facts) is often in the middle.
Post a Comment