Balance of nature: human and theological implications (Introduction)

by David Turell , Monday, February 10, 2025, 18:53 (24 days ago) @ dhw

Balance of Nature: human

DAVID: Trump's point is the USA will cooperate while not enshrined in a toothless set of papers.

dhw: They are toothless because countries like China and India and now America are determined to put national economic and social interests ahead of any other considerations, instead of seeking a balance between these and averting the expansion of current known dangers.

DAVID: See Hossenfelder for an analysis

Her analysis confirms my own fears! I shan’t repeat all the quotes. The final one is enough:

"It’s only a matter of time until they’ll [net-zero plans] be abandoned and no amount of suing by climate activists is going to do anything about this."

dhw: She accepts the reality of climate change, and her prophecy makes it horrifyingly clear that economic interests (plus AI and people’s reluctance to change their habits) will outweigh what you and I and even Musk have agreed are very real threats to our environment. I agree with you that we should ignore the panicky folks. As I keep saying, and you keep agreeing, current known dangers should be enough to make us strive towards a balanced, pragmatic approach to avert their continuation and – as she points out – the probable escalation of those dangers. Sadly, Trump epitomizes those powers which will lead to more and more damage and will help Hossenfelder’s prophecy to come true.

DAVID: Yes, we drill baby drill, while our carbon contributions are falling. It is easy to proclaim, follow us.

dhw: I’m delighted that you agree with Musk that “climate change risk is real”, and that you acknowledge the damage being done by current practices, and are in favour of balanced measures to prevent further escalation. We both condemn silly exaggerations aimed at creating panic. We even agree that without international cooperation, the Paris Agreement is toothless, and I expect you too are dismayed by the obvious truths in Hossenfelder’s analysis. In fact our only disagreement here is on the role being played by Trump, who is now playing a central role in ensuring that Hossenfelder’s prophecy will come true.

How real is the risk is still theoretical. My concept of it is much smaller than your.