3 ms·
This is a case of someone use a "technically correct" fact to make a misleading statement (at least in tone), and then following it up with a 'kill-the-messenge
by cagenut 6y ago
This is a case of someone use a "technically correct" fact to make a misleading statement (at least in tone), and then following it up with a 'kill-the-messenger' political snipe at journalists. This is textbook contrarian reactionary misdirection.
#1 - C02 emissions account for only about half of the overall GHG emissions impact of air travel. Anytime you see someone specifically isolating just the CO2 emissions you know they are either poorly informed or deliberately misleading you.
#2 - It doesn't actually matter. If something is 2.5% of X or 5% of X and X needs to get to 0 then the distinction is without a difference. Its only the tone of phrasing that makes this sound like a counterpoint, when it is in fact not.
#3 - unlike much of the other 95 percent of emissions airline travel is by far the most uniquely isolated to very wealthy (globally speaking) people. If you believe in any basic notion of "progressive taxation", and you apply that to GHG emissions, then getting rich (again globally relatively rich) people to stop flying or fly less is by far the most blatant outlier to address quickly and early.
- SamReidHughes 6y agoNo, the purpose of the piece isn’t any sort of real policy proposal. It’s to adapt climate change hysteria to make readers hate the rich. And capping total prosperity is nothing at all like progressive taxation.
- cagenut 6y agoReducing the GHG emissions of <sector> to zero/near-zero/net-zero is not "hysteria". It is the mathematically simplest possible form of understanding the published climate science. Whats "hysteria" is trying to turn that into a political/social-beliefs debate about "prosperity" or "hating the rich" instead of a simple numbers analysis.
- SamReidHughes 6y ago> Reducing the GHG emissions of <sector> to zero/near-zero/net-zero is not "hysteria". I didn't say that was hysteria, so why are you pretending I did? The actual purpose of the Guardian piece is to give its readers more reasons to hate the rich.