The problem with this piece therefore isn't that they don't address the cost of climate change (lamentable as that is), but that it parrots the CW that GHG reduction costs money.

Worse, they assert it as fact:

"Making a serious dent in global warming would be hugely costly."

Says who?  Says Evan Thomas, and every other journalist who parrots this meme without first doing a half second of logical thought.  Note that I'm not even suggesting they ought to do more research.  Just a few moments of quiet reflection is all it takes to realize what a bizzaro-assumption this is.  Every Btu of fossil fuel we don't burn is a couple bucks we save.  Which means that every efficiency investment, renewable investment or conservation investment (e.g, live closer to work) saves us money.  The only question is whether or not the initial cost required to save that fuel is big or small relative to the annual savings.  (e.g., how big is the return on that fuel-saving investment).  But even a 1% return on investment is an economic growth engine.  So what, praytell, is the basis for assuming that reducing that fuel use is costly?  There's only one way that's logical: if we make maximal use of every fossil Btu we take out of the ground.  There are no leaks.  There are no suboptimal economic decisions.  There are no subsidies.  There is no possibility to put thicker insulation in Evan Thomas' house.  Come on.  

As my three year old daughter says, "stop goofin".

The Groovy Mind

Make a difference with your groovy mind!

The entire point of thinking about "green" issues is to change our point of view from the very short term to the somewhat longer-term.  Yet there is a perceived credibility behind people who argue about the short-term costs of preventing climate change.

What you almost never hear about is the horrendous costs that will come if we don't tackle global warming

"social proof" is a deep-seated human urge to do the "right thing!"

All I know for sure is that the GHG conversation is dominated by nudists who claim a royal pedigree.

I wanted to post and say Global Climate Change is a scary fact we must face, but I might have been called an elitist or Stalinist who wanted the government to force us into slave labor camps and make us give up our cars.  

Hey, I'm an older, very middle class American with simple Christian viewpoints who happens to like to read and be up-to-date on issues.  I'm not in charge of anything, but I'm concerned about the condition of the earth and what my grandchildren will inherit.  I graduated from a state university in Georgia, worked my whole life, and sue me, I think a higher being wants us to take care of His/Her creation.  

I don't feel elite or commie-pinko.  Why is there so much hating and labeling on blogs in general????

Go Grist!

He made a strong case for the urgency of our predicament, and discussed the relative valor of individual action vs. legislative/policy changes.

cheers,
Guillaume