3 ms·
> In the sense that matters most for effective altruism, climate change refers to large-scale shifts in weather patterns that result from emissions of greenhous
by mrkeen 3y ago
> In the sense that matters most for effective altruism, climate change refers to large-scale shifts in weather patterns that result from emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane largely from fossil fuel consumption. Climate change has the potential to result in—and to some extent is already resulting in—increased natural disasters, increased water and food insecurity, and widespread species extinction and habitat loss.
> 80,000 Hours rates reducing extreme risks from climate change a "second-highest priority area": an unusually pressing global problem ranked slightly below their four highest priority areas.
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/topics/climate-change https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/topics/climate-change
You should point your climate denier accusations at someone, so readers can at least check that person's statements.
- PaulHoule 3y agoThat”s denial because you will be forced into denial to defend that position (e.g. you’re always going to be caught saying it is not so bad, just turn up your AC, …)
- kaashif 3y agoCan you define what you mean by denial and point to a specific example? You're still being hypothetical and vague with "you will be forced into denial" - I would flat out say that's obviously false. Saying the risk of climate change wiping out humanity is less than the risk of nuclear war doing so is not climate denial. It may be wrong, but it's not climate denial.
- matthewdgreen 3y agoAll discussions of EA run into the fact that EA is a diverse movement with lots of different opinions and “wings” of the movement with different priorities. So any statement like the above is going to have dissenters. At the same time (and to practice charity, as many in the movement recommend): it is also perfectly accurate to note that there is an opinionated wing of the EA movement that believes AI risk is the most important X-risk facing us, and influential members of that movement have certainly made statements downplaying the relative risk of climate change. They’ve also managed to get some agreement from portions of the broader community. (And it is also hard to deny that some of the latter elements of the movement seem to be gaining ground in ‘capturing’ the brand, at least as far as it’s known to the public.)
- PaulHoule 3y agoToday it comes across like somebody is holding a gun to your head (climate change and the even worse political problem it entails) and they are worried your shoes are untied.