From end of 2018:

from alianza FiiDEM_AC.

And, indeed, it was one of the most uplifting two hours I’ve recently spent. I have long been an admirer of Professor Tony Seba. I have read his books. This was an update on how he now sees the world.

As someone who embraces the legal logic of the Juliana v United States lawsuit, I do not have much confidence in politics being able to mitigate climate disruption. Both political parties in the United States have been repeatedly warned of the consequences of continuing the policy of mining and emitting and their inevitable disruptions of the climate. And, while, technically, United States emissions have plateaued, this is a result of our collective exporting our manufacturing emissions to China.

So, politically, efforts to mitigate climate change, in the United States, but not only in the United States, but also in the OECD, have been an abysmal failure. How depressing. And the death throes of the so-called Green New Deal do not inspire.

I have stated my problems with matters as they are. (Context.) I am pessimistic that the last branch of the United States government will intervene appropriately. They haven’t shown enthusiasm.

And, as I made clear in my statement, this is not a cause for despair. There will be a response. Unfortunately, by the abrogation of interest and concern on the part, firstly, of the general public in the matter, the displacements in jobs, social equity, and wealth which will inevitably occur by their collective lack of engagement will be painful. Nevertheless, this disruption will happen, since economics, at least in OECD countries, are primary.

Climate change will be mitigated, perhaps a bit late, and probably with an incredible loss of present wealth, because of bad bets on the part of the wealthy. I really do not find any reason to sympathize with them. I believe the less privileged won’t be impacted any more than they usually are, and, in the dissolution of wealth which will inevitably occur, they may have opportunities they did not have previously. In any case, the presumed omniscience on the part of the Haves over the Have Nots in United States society should be destroyed in concept, although the ignorance of some publics regarding our present leadership gives me some pause in this conclusion.

In any event, I feel this change is inexorable, not, as Professor Tony Seba repeatedly emphasizes, because of do-good environmental policies, but because the time of zero Carbon energy and smart distribution of it via computation has arrived.

And, frankly, as uncharitable as the opinion might seem, I have zero commiseration with those who opposed the advance of such zero Carbon energy, whether that means they lose their jobs, lose their investments, or cannot provide for their offspring. For they are the reason why, after more than 20 years of knowing about climate change, we have collectively done nothing, and, in process, thrown doubt at Science and Engineering and Mathematics, they deserve no sympathy, and no consideration. Let them be a lesson.

It is also notably that electorate should be highly cautious of urgings on the part of fossil fuel interests, including extractions companies as well as their supporters, to reimburse them for losses relating to this disruption. There is ample evidence they saw what was coming and chose to oppose it rather than adapting to it. That was a choice. That was their right. But they should not be given a penny because they chose wrongly. There is nothing more fundamental to free market capitalism than the principle that those who make bad bets should bear the full cost of making those bad bets.