Thursday, February 22, 2007

Friedman Vs. Gore

Economist David Friedman has an excellent posting on the politics of global warming. (You can also read this in today's Financial Post.)

After reviewing the science behind the issue, Friedman concludes that "global warming is probably real, is probably but not certainly anthropogenic, is probably not going to have large effects on size and frequency of hurricanes and is probably not going to have large effects on sea level. It is a real problem but not, on current evidence, an impending catastrophe."

So why all the doom and gloom pronouncements from people like Al Gore.

Because, says Friedman, "Environmentalism in general and global warming in particular provide new arguments for expanded government power, new taxes, and the like. That does not mean, of course, that those arguments are wrong, but it does mean that there are a lot of people who have an incentive to support them whether wrong or right."

In other words, he says "Global warming provides arguments for things that a lot of people, mostly left of center, want to do anyway—shift lifestyles away from automobiles towards mass transit, reduce consumption of depletable resources, and the like. Environmentalism is in part a real argument, in part a religion, in part an aesthetic; the second and third parts make people too willing to accept the first."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

why all the doom and gloom from Gore and the left of centre?

Because it pays and there's nothing the left likes more than to make money on the backs(and fears) of society.

Monkey Loves to Fight said...

I think global warming does require action, but primarily at the individual level. Government can only do so much, individuals must do their part by using public transit more, buying greener cars, turning off the lights when leaving the home, keeping the temperature at 15C when away in the winter and 25C in the summer when out. I believe if the right wants credibility here, they should argue how the market can help solve global warming.

Anonymous said...

"Kyoto" Scam Of The Century
I'm a global warming denier, and apparently so are the Countries of China and India.

China is building more than 550 new coal-fired energy plants over the next 5 years.
China is saying...global warming is a myth...

India is building more than 220 new coal-fired energy plants over the next 5 years.
India is saying...global warming is a myth...

The planet has been alot warmer in the past without any influence from man,
and China and India know it.
Why do you think Greenland is called Greenland?
Why, are the growing glaciers of Antartica not being reported?
If it warms just a little more, will grapes grow in England like they did during Roman times?
The only real truth about climate change is just that (climate does change).

...on the other side of the coin...

Dalton Mcguinty wants to close 4 coal-fired energy plants here in Ontario because we are destroying the planet!

David Susuki wants to shut down Alberta's oil-sands projects because we are destroying the planet!

Al Gore wants to shut down all aspects of our western democratic society, no-more plains, trains or cars...no-more factories...no-more electricity because we are destroying the planet!

Stephane Dion wants to use Kyoto regulations to make Canada pay for all the new
coal-fired power plants in China, India, Russia..
because we have already destroyed the planet!

Am I the only one to see the hypocracy comming from the socialists.
Do these people have an agenda or what?
Look at those numbers from China,India and tell me again
who and or what is destroying the planet?

When the weatherman can't tell me (consistently),
what the weather will be like..say..a week from next thursday.
One has to wonder, just what Dion,Gore,Susuki and Mcshiffty have been smoking!

Ps...there are links to everything I've said, I just don't have the time right now,
remember...Google is your friend!

Anonymous said...

You are right on William!! I agree totally.

Oh and Miles the "right" is very credible, unlike the "left", and thanks to Mr. Goldenberg for letting us in on the secret that Chretien thought Kyoto impossible when we signed on in the first place.

Credible? Liberals? Nope, can't picture it. Must be the greenhouse gas emitting hot air from that party!