John Broome's essay entitled "The Ethics of Climate Change" was long winded essay on what how he believes we should evaluate and apply ecomomics and market values in an attempt to fix the system. I am not one who completely believes that humans are completely responsible for the climate change, and by that I mean, it is the also the natural course of the planet itself that is also to be held accountable as well. The earth is billions of years old and throughout that time it has gone through countless changes from the ice age to present time, to having no animals to have dinosaurs only to have them disappear, how this all plays into Broome's logic is lacking to say the least.
I challenge Broome's statement "Many people, some living, others yet to be born, will die from the effects of climate change." Yes, people die from the heat, but how do you hold the world accountable for that because of greenhouse emissions? How do we not know that would have happened anyway? "By emiting greenhouse gases, are the rich perpetrating an injustice on the world's poor?" The question raised by Broome is a real stretch trying to place blame on the rich because they may use the products that emit the greenhouse gases. If the poor suddenly had the products you bet they would use them without a thought the poor still without.
Broome goes on further and tries to come up with rates and a price tag on greenhouse gases and would have corporations and people held to a financial bill of sorts, involving the ecomonists and the market. I found that entire section of the essay to be so confusing and completely out there, that I don't know if I can even comment on it. Since I believe that climate change would be taking place even if we stopped all greenhouse gases emissions how would that all play in the market?, well to me it would be a waste of time since you can't fight and beat nature.
I find it really interesting that you have really taken the side "you can't fight and beat nature". I mean, imagine, if there was really nothing we could do about it...all this time and money wasted trying to develop new technologies and it was all just something to pass the time. If it really is true, at least we will hopefully be buying ourselves more time.
ReplyDeleteI realized after reading your comment, what I meant to really say was that even with trying to control our greenhouse emissions, the climate will still change, it is the planet taking care of itself. Yes, we shouldn't pollute or abuse our earth. We should have been taking care of that all from the very begining of time, but even with all that we are doing to harm the climate, it would still be changing. It is sort of like when people want to live on the beach and then get upset because their house goes out to sea because of a hurricane. They attempt to replace sand, build barriers to no avail, you can't beat nature, we need to adapt our living to nature not the other way around, it will never work. Thanks for your comment.
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