Considered Opinions

Adapting

Q: Is the climate changing?
A: Of course – it always has been and there is no reason to think it will not continue.

Q: Are human endeavors contributing to the change?
A: Yes – probably a lot; just ask Neil ^[i]Listen carefully – he is explaining that Climate Change is a real thing and people need to wake up to that fact. He also adds, “as induced by human conduct”, to acknowledge that there is that component. Finally, he says, “stop with all the superstition and the news media distortion and get busy preparing to adapt”. Neil deGrasse Tyson

Q: How much is a lot?
A: No one knows but it doesn’t matter – it can’t be changed anyway.

Q: What is the World going to do about it?
A: Almost nothing – It’s next to impossible and half the world lacks the motivation.

Q: What can the USA do about it?
A: Not much to affect the change but a lot to help ourselves and the World adjust to it. ^[ii]Can it be that hard? The Britts figured it out!

 

This little chart from a previous chapter tells us everything we need to know about the sources of greenhouse gases and manmade Climate Change. While it ignores the 2% to 10% coming from volcanos and other natural sources, it cannot ignore the fact that China is the Gorilla in the room – all other countries can be ignored. Then consider that;

 

 

• 1. China wants to make all the stuff the Western World is willing to buy.
  2. China has no Senate or House of Representatives to get in the way.
  3. China has no Human Rights Subcommittee, Ethics Officer, and no AOCs.
  4. China cares about two things – Power and Independence from the West.
  5. China does not give a rat’s ass about Climate Change.

 

China went from being a 3rd World Country to a Super Power in under 50 years – does anyone really think Climate Change is going to slow them down? When oceans rise, they will simply abandon port cities like Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Shanghai, and build new, more modern ones. The hundred years or so needed to move or rebuild a city is like the blink of an eye in history in the Chinese perspective .

As for farmlands that will be lost to rising sea levels, they have plenty of lands to replace the flooded ones and are quite capable and willing to steal the technology necessary to make that land as productive as any on Earth.

Meanwhile, Taiwan, being critical to China’s future as the World’s dominant military and economic force, is more vulnerable to rising sea levels because one-third of the island is near sea level – more on that in the chapter on Information Technology.

As for the rest of the World, fortunately, this is not Man’s first Climate Crisis. Scientists are pretty much in agreement that our friend Neanderthal faced a similar situation about 40,000 years ago. After having lived happily in Europe for 100,000 years, a cold snap hit, and He was not able to adapt. Even though Homo Sapien’s brain was smaller in size at the time, it seemingly was better organized, allowing Him to move and adapt, while Neanderthal folded under the pressure. Neanderthal probably said, “Wow; it’s really getting cold; let’s put out the fires in all the caves because they are generating greenhouse gases”, and Homo Sapian said, “OK guys, let’s head south and try some new ideas”.

The lesson to be learned from early Homo Sapien ^[iii]Scientists tell us that there is no detectable Neanderthal DNA in modern humans, but there seem to be pockets around Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and a handful of other large cities where that is not the case. is that we know the climate is changing and we SHOULD know that there is not very much we can do about it. This might be a good time to “shoot” (figuratively speaking) the “Climate Scientists” and get to work on shoring up the World’s economies, so the “Real Scientists”, engineers, technicians, and others can get on with innovating the needed solutions.

So the remaining question is;

Q: What can individual American citizens do about it?
A:

• Get educated, don’t borrow opinions from others.
• Stay away from anyone claiming to be a Climate Scientist.
• Totally ignore politicians and the news media on the subject.
• Vote for politicians who are educated in the “hard” sciences.
• Never vote for a career politician.
• Realize that the solution lies with Technological Innovation.

• • Innovation requires Motivation and Ingenuity.
  • Motivation is enabled by Free Markets.
  • Ingenuity is enabled through Capital Formation.
  • Free Markets and Capital Formation work in spite of Governments.
• Speak out against anyone espousing any of the following;
  • High tax on Corporations – providers of jobs, passing on taxes as price increases ^[iv]Corporate Tax Increase = Consumer Price Increase;
    simple arithmetic
  • High tax on high wage earners – enablers of Innovation
  • Wealth tax, capital gains tax, other anti-investment tax – inhibitors of Capital Formation
  • Lowering the income gap – driver of Innovation ^[v]Human Psychology 101
  • Government-funded solar or wind energy ^[vi]It is quite likely that the long-term future of both is limited to localized off-grid applications, meaning the only fossil alternative on the horizon is nuclear.
  • Any more profoundly stupid ideas from The Squad

 

The irony is that the way out of the crisis is the same Ingenuity, Self-Reliance, Personal Pride, and God-Given Freedoms that got Americans here in the first place.

By: Jim
Written: 2021
Published: June 2021
Revised: