If you think global warming is a hoax, are you an idiot?

[notyoueither]

Now, it's possible that this is a case of ulterior motives trumping sound science. I consider this possibility unlikely, since I can't think of what ulterior motive would lead people to falsify such a massive PITA. It's not like there's some shady cabal of solar panel manufacturers pulling the strings, with just about every other form of industry helpless before its hippie might. If there were a strong case for anthropogenic climate change being false, I don't see how or why it would be suppressed with coal, gas, power, auto and all the rest pulling for it. It's just hard for me to believe.

I take it you have not heard it suggested that a motive of the movement is redistribution of wealth from developed to developing world. The sub-current is that many of yesterday's Commies have moved on into the environmental movement (if they could not get into banking).

[Fake Boris]

I take it you have not heard that we emit much more per capita than they do.

[notyoueither]

That's not the point. The point was to make a funny comment about ex-Commies going into banking, and to point out to Elok that there are possible ulterior motives for the AGW campaign.

[Fake Boris]

Fair enough.

[Elok]

The thing is, campaigns against GW would screw the developing world by denying them the opportunity to industrialize the way we did. No refrigerator, color TV or car for you, Tuan, your country jumped on the bandwagon too late. No?

[Dinner]

There are ways to generate electricity without burning fossil fuels (hydro power, geothermal, and nuclear power all come to mind) but those mostly rely upon being in the right geographic space (a country with a large river valley which can be damed or which has a high geothermal heat gradient) or are more expensive. Obviously, they're going to need fossil fuel fired power plants to raise living standards but making them/encouraging them to adopt best practice (WRT to pollution & efficiency) can help as can making use of alternatives such as wind or solar for part of the solution.

[giblets]

The thing is, campaigns against GW would screw the developing world by denying them the opportunity to industrialize the way we did. No refrigerator, color TV or car for you, Tuan, your country jumped on the bandwagon too late. No?

Is it really impossible to industrialize without burning lots and lots of coal?

[Elok]

Solar and wind are becoming more practical, IIUC, but they don't offer the quick and dirty fix of fossil fuels--and poor countries can't go paying a premium to set up electrical infrastructure. Also, I can't picture millions of Tesla Roadsters zipping around New Delhi or Shanghai. Petroleum is vital, and probably will be for the near future.

[regexcellent]

**** solar and wind. We've had a really warm winter so far this year in Rochester and it's fantastic.

[DaShi]

Meanwhile, everyone below Pennsylvania has been cook alive.

[giblets]

I didn't want a warm winter

[Dinner]

Our's has been nice so far. Almost spring like.

[KrazyHorse]

DP

[KrazyHorse]

I take it you have not heard it suggested that a motive of the movement is redistribution of wealth from developed to developing world. The sub-current is that many of yesterday's Commies have moved on into the environmental movement (if they could not get into banking).

I feel like this is a dig at myself, yet I wholeheartedly approve of the redistribution of wealth (both intra- and inter-nationally).

[notyoueither]

Redistribution for some value is not a problem.

Communism, and other pie-eyed ideologies that create more problems than they solve are.

And it was not a dig. It was a stab at humour.