Striking schoolkids shun hard questions about climate change
Schoolkids protesting inaction on climate change have a legitimate grievance about the elders they’re nagging.
They evidently haven’t been taught to think critically.
Anyone concerned about climate change should be asking hard questions. For example:
● How can we learn more about the relationship between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global average temperature?
A standard metric is equilibrium climate sensitivity, the warming expected from a doubling of CO2 after stabilization of atmospheric and oceanic temperatures.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates the value at 1.5º-4.5ºC.
● Given uncertainty evident in that wide range, how useful can temperature targets be?
Until we can more precisely calibrate temperature to CO2 in the atmosphere, targets are political tokens.
● Why do proposals to remediate climate change start with radical and very costly changes?
With their worst-case assumptions drop-everything demands, climate activists and their friends in government seem mainly to want to control energy and agriculture.
● Will meat-eaters who favor affordable energy and economic freedom support the activists’ agenda?
In most places where governments have begun to overhaul energy economies, citizens have rebelled against the cost and intrusion.
● What less-extreme responses to human-induced climate change might be available?
Companies and industries are demonstrating ways to control emissions of greenhouse gases with voluntary programs. Judicious carbon taxation might accelerate the process and give industries certainty now lacking. Proceeds could fund research and incentives for emission cuts. But policy should target emissions, not temperatures.
● Why aren’t less-extreme policies under discussion?
Disagreement with climate radicalism is rejected as denial.
● So, is climate politics about climate or power?
Someone should ask.
Protesting youngsters probably feel splendidly empowered. They claim freedom from educational routine. They shame adults.
They will not, of course, ask the hard questions. They haven’t learned enough about the climate to see beyond political superficiality. They don’t yet doubt activist exaggeration. And they haven’t developed respect for what they might not know.
A timely question is whether they ever will.
(From the subscription area of www.ogj.com, posted Sept. 20, 2019. To comment, join the Commentary channel at www.ogj.com/oilandgascommunity.)
Bob Tippee | Editor
Bob Tippee, Editor of Oil & Gas Journal, has written the weekly magazine's editorials since 1981. Since 1996, he also has written a weekly online feature called "Editor's Perspective," which appears first on OGJ Online and later in the print magazine. A member of the OGJ staff since 1977, Tippee has been chief editor since January 1999. He holds a degree in journalism from the University of Tulsa.