Climate change through analogies

This is analagous to the issue of slavery faced by Abraham Lincoln or the issue of Nazism faced by Winston Churchill. On those kind of issues you cannot compromise. You can’t say let’s reduce slavery, let’s find a compromise and reduce it 50% or reduce it 40%.

Says James Hansen, the leading climate change expert and scientist, while explaining how the world leaders today are facing a moral dilemma but yet try to compromise. And he’s openly criticizing Obama as well as Gore.

He is also opposing the cap and trade legislation that the US congress wants to pass. About that, he says

This is analogous to the indulgences that the Catholic church sold in the middle ages. The bishops collected lots of money and the sinners got redemption. Both parties liked that arrangement despite its absurdity. That is exactly what’s happening. We’ve got the developed countries who want to continue more or less business as usual and then these developing countries who want money and that is what they can get through offsets [sold through the carbon markets].

(via this piece in the Guardian)

I am waiting to get my hands on his book Storms of my Grandchildren. I love these analogies of his. Also, speaking of the cap and trade legislature, check out this short film titled story of Cap ad Trade. It’s part of an existing series of shorts called Story of Stuff. Check it out. It’s already sparked off discussions about which is the best way to tackle climate change. A lot of experts want to tax high carbon emitting fuels to ward off their consumption and move to more ecofriendly way instead of dealing with carbon credits.

Lets see how things turn out. 2 weeks notice has been put up to seal the deal.

Tagged as: al gore, climate change, hensen, oama