What’s the Worst That Could Happen?: A Rational Response to the Climate Change Debate
What’s the Worst That Could Happen?: A Rational Response to the Climate Change Debate – Review
In What’s the Worst that Could Happen?, Greg Craven brings some greatly needed original air to the climate change debate. First of all, he approaches the topic with lots of humility. He doesn’t take an “I’m right you’re wrong stance”. Craven admits his own biases and views on the topic, but steps outside of his own views to encourage you to exercise your own logical analysis. In fact, it ceases to be a debate, as he encourages you to decide for yourself. He enthusiastically provides you with links to the most reliable sources on both parts of the argument and arms you with the consistent framework usually required to think through this huge risk management task, pushing you to draw your own conclusion. This book is as much about decision reaching and risk management, as it is about climate change. The first five chapters are entirely devoted almost entirely to effectively giving an summary of decision reaching, the doubt of science, and our mental reflexes and biases. And while he doesn’t cut to the chase right away, it’s well worth the reader’s patience. What I liked most about this book is that in point of the alarmist approach led by many environmentalists, instead of the minor requests from liberals simply asking the public to change their light bulbs, and in lieu of the “head in the sand approach” of some conservatives, Craven only asks the reader to think rationally, and to question their own assumptions, regardless of which part of the climate change debate they now fall on. Ultimately, towards the end, Craven does spell out where he falls on the debate. He describes that climate change, like all science, is the analysis of uncertainties, and that the choice to act or not is a risk management decision which he takes extremely seriously because of his vested interests in the future of his family. To him, climate change is a serious “risk”, not a given. Regardless, he thinks that climate change should be taken seriously and federally insured against, just like we insure against fires, floods, earthquakes and other main risks. However, rather than simply asking his readers to act via small gestures like constantly changing their light bulbs, he outlines a brave vision to create a citizen started movement to change policy. Still, I do not completely agree with his finally acquiescing that negatively regulating CO2 could harm the economy, even if the possibility of hurting the economy is smaller than the possibility of runaway climate disruption. The statement that the environment and the economy are at odds is a myth that continues to be needlessly perpetuated. For instance, why is pollution taxed at almost 0%, while hard mental and pure labor is taxed at ten per cents We are possibly living in the 21st century, the information age, but eventually stuck with a 19th century horse and buggy tax system. Rather than effectively creating additional taxes (i.e. the carbon tax) on top of free taxes (i.e. the individual and commercial income tax), we can simply shift the funds of surviving government receipts from taxing labor to taxing pollution. This minimal change would create all the incentives people need to make their own choices, without effectively making them worst off economically compared to today. If this previously thought intrigues you email me at ed.castano “at” gmail dot com . Overall, Greg Craven does an superb job of currently providing a normal response to the climate change debate, as the subtitle means. Most importantly, his writing style builds the material accessible to anyone, regardless of their knowledge or stance on the problem of climate change. It is a great follow up to his viral hit on YouTube, “The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See 2″. Three thumbs up to What’s the Worst that Could Happen! Another really refreshing read within this genre is: Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility You can find a New York Times study of the book, Break Through: by searching for the immediately following terms on Google: “breakthrough new york times review”.