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In recent weeks, I’ve had a vague feeling that climate activism may be jumping the shark with the elevation of Thunberg and her brand of rhetoric. Or perhaps wh

In recent weeks, I’ve had a vague feeling that climate activism may be jumping the shark with the elevation of Thunberg and her brand of rhetoric. Or perhaps what’s happening is that battle lines are being hardened, in a way that seems almost guaranteed not to help anything. When I listen to Thunberg, it just deepens my sense of dread about the political, social, and other structural barriers to confronting anthropogenic climate change. And while I agree with her (and experts generally) that we’re not going to engineer our way out of the problem without sacrifice, the fact is that the few, heavily qualified glimmers of hope that I see, tend to have more to do with technology and energy economics than with policy. What a mess. I hope this won’t be read as criticism of Thunberg herself.

hnarn 7y ago
> the few, heavily qualified glimmers of hope that I see, tend to have more to do with technology and energy economics than with policy That's because the only glimmers of hope we currently have are pure wishful thinking. Pointing toward accelerated technological change is pointing towards the non-existing, and of course that can be hopeful, but it's not guaranteed to change anything. The only real change is not hopeful, because we know it won't happen, but it's what would work: drastic reduction in carbon footprint worldwide through policy. So we cling on to what might happen, and might work: the magic device, the magic technology, the iPhone of the climate apocalypse, the thing that will solve our issue. We don't need a thing, we need less things, less carbon in the atmosphere and the unavoidable slowdown of the fossil fueled economy it brings with it.
Joakal 7y ago
It is not exactly jumping the shark as the global climate strike protests were planned between 20-27 September with her leading it. With millions of people turning out, the media will put it in the news too, so you'll hear more of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_2019_climate_strikes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_2019_climate_strikes
- theobeers 7y ago
  Yes, the visibility of these events in Berlin has been considerable, the support seemingly unanimous. What does it mean, other than growing disconnect? I guess we’ll see, and I really hope I’m wrong.

hnarn 7y ago

> the few, heavily qualified glimmers of hope that I see, tend to have more to do with technology and energy economics than with policy That's because the only glimmers of hope we currently have are pure wishful thinking. Pointing toward accelerated technological change is pointing towards the non-existing, and of course that can be hopeful, but it's not guaranteed to change anything. The only real change is not hopeful, because we know it won't happen, but it's what would work: drastic reduction in carbon footprint worldwide through policy. So we cling on to what might happen, and might work: the magic device, the magic technology, the iPhone of the climate apocalypse, the thing that will solve our issue. We don't need a thing, we need less things, less carbon in the atmosphere and the unavoidable slowdown of the fossil fueled economy it brings with it.

Joakal 7y ago

It is not exactly jumping the shark as the global climate strike protests were planned between 20-27 September with her leading it. With millions of people turning out, the media will put it in the news too, so you'll hear more of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_2019_climate_strikes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_2019_climate_strikes

theobeers 7y ago
Yes, the visibility of these events in Berlin has been considerable, the support seemingly unanimous. What does it mean, other than growing disconnect? I guess we’ll see, and I really hope I’m wrong.