The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[OakesCS]

GOP who denies it even exists

obvious hyperbole which doesnt counter my points. 1. there are many people in the GOP that find the evidence for climate change compelling but recognize that what i said about social engineering Ponzi schemes to be true. 2. I didnt blame "the side". I was pointing out that many people, a large part of whom are on "the side" of AOC/Pelosi/Bernie etc, do not and will not or can not change their lifestyle to address climate change until their version of a cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that they will achieve a net benefit by changing their habits/day-to-day lifestyles. Simply throwing money into programs or people that doesnt incentivize people to change their lifestyles in such a way as to mitigate climate change does not demonstrate seriousness.

Bankrupting coal and coal-fired power plants to make windmills more econonomically viable was certainly serious, effective and will undoubtedly benefit the environment. However, it did come at a real increase in the cost of power and real economic losses. Presenting arguments that coal miners can become coders through some government run retraining program is completely unserious.

Throwing subsidies to people buying $70k+ Teslas, also does not demonstrate seriousness - particularly since the vast majority of any population can not afford such vehicles even with subsidies. Teslas are never going to have a serious impact on the climate - they dont appear out of fairy dust nor is their power without impact on the climate.

jbog's point about AC is a good one and I'd venture that anybody that wants to show their dedication to improving the environment should try living without AC (btw: I do and i live in the south). "Snowflake" becomes a more appropriate term for folks who whine about climate abusers from the comfort of a nice air-conditioned office/home. Conversely, i'd bet most folks in the PRC dont have AC so you'll have to convince them to change some other aspect of their lifestyles.