Donald and Greta

No Thanksgiving RSVPs -- You Are DEFINITELY Not Invited

How did these two become the options???

Don’t Bother

My major premise today is IT DOES NOT MATTER whether your think Greta Thunberg or Donald Trump is a more credible source for learning about the climate. The facts are what they are. The angry rants feel like wasted energy even if you have hitched your wagon to one of these messengers. Fiction is sometimes useful to explain and understand stuff. I was inspired to this message after listening to a couple of interviews with the author of “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”, Yuval Noah Harari. One of his quotes that led to a greater discussion was about fiction.

“Our world is built on fictions. They're all around us: nations, corporations and religion were invented in the human imagination. And if it weren't for the fictional stories we collectively tell, we might not be the dominant species on the planet.”

The quote is provocative. There are greater truths embedded in the fictions of our world. Harari posits that fictions are merely useful shortcuts we create. They are not substitutes for truth, they are merely shortcuts. His books are great reads if you are interested.¹

A Voter Guide

I forgot the poll in my last post and some readers let me know they were disappointed. To make up for it I put the poll near the front and included a sort of “voter guide”. Our protagonists have polemic views about the climate so I decided to let them frame the poll today. The anger from each of them is palpable. I worry about their blood pressure and mental health. My favorite part of these quotes is “blah, blah, blah” and a dose of inane conspiracy.

Greta Thunberg (GT)
“We can no longer let the people in power decide what is politically possible. We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive. Hope is not blah, blah, blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action. And hope always comes from the people.”

Donald Trump (DT)
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.

The fiction part of things is useful. The unfortunate disconnect for many is people check their critical thinking after they’ve chosen the horse they like in the race. People often make this decision based on the color of the horse’s silks. Gene Wilder said it best.

How About the Poll For Starters

Beyond forgetting the poll last time, I also got a bit of outrage from someone who directly said “your post was a lot longer…”. Well, a seven minute post is not very long in my estimation and I figure it is WELL BEYOND the folks who might be lecturing me :) On any account, I am working to be more economical with my words. Today is 7 minutes again. If you remain unsure about the merits of 6 vs 7 vs 8, here is some guidance from a classic movie.

My premise today is whether you are partial to GT’s OR DT’s view about “the climate” is immaterial. The facts do not care about your feelings is my point of view today. Today the poll comes first so I don’t forget. I HOPE that many of you regret the answer you give by the time you finish this post. That will mean my argument was persuasive!

What Are The Facts

Scientists are just as likely to get stuff wrong as anyone else. Just because someone decided the moon was made out of green cheese doesn’t make them right. However, this is where science does have a decided advantage. It is the method of always testing the latest proposal and either reinforcing the idea or throwing cold water on it. It is not ever the claim that is interesting or compelling. It is the process that follows the claim that makes it more or less likely. Do this enough and you have a surefire method to getting closer to the truth. I prefer this to inane shouting. If you are a decided fan of GT or DT, my two cents are:

“Faith is belief absent facts. Blind faith is belief despite the presence of countermanding facts. I admire faith as a starting point. It’s just the start though.

Burning stuff for energy has served us well. We have gotten REALLY GOOD at it also. Nevertheless, we are now at a time where with some hard work, we have finally figured out an even better way to make energy and keep this planet we have in decent condition for the people to come. We don’t need faith that solar power might work —just buy it on Amazon.

The Way Forward Was Always Under Our Nose

The natural world and all of its processes run on sunlight — the story of us is simpler than it seems. Once you realize this, we merely must figure out how it works and emulate it — that is what renewable energy is in a nutshell. The power is in the light, the wind, the tides, water flow. We copy them with solar power, wind turbines, tidal generators, dams and geothermal capture. All of these are free (or at least no marginal fuel cost). No fuel required is hardly controversial. What could be easier than that.

The Old Way Is Not That Easy Anyhow

Sure, you can (1) continue to search for stuff to burn, (2) dig it up or force it out, (3) move it to your burn pit (4) bury the leftovers in the ground or the air (5) capture perhaps 40% after all that effort & make some electricity. We can do it but it seems a lot of effort for little benefit.

We have developed a better mousetrap. I am doubtful the folks who worked hard on solar arrays and wind turbines did it because they are enamored with Greta Thunberg. They enjoyed the challenge of making a better mousetrap. Once the better mousetrap exists, it is foolish to ignore the new way just because you didn’t think of it. There’s a lot of free energy out there — one day in the hot sun without sunscreen is all the proof you need. Once you figure it out, we all know deep down how stupid it is to keep hauling firewood and coal unless you want some s’mores.

Simple & Obvious

Envisioning the next tool is what makes us Sapiens amazing. A solar array is the new campfire. This has happened before along the path of human advancement. As one of my favorite quotes attributed to the Yankee catcher Yogi Berra goes: “when you come to the fork in the road, take it”. Soon enough we eliminate the fork in the road because the correct path becomes obvious regardless of the shouting.

A Parable

A long time ago, humankind came up with the idea of the wheel. Scholars figure the first application were grinding wheels to crush grain and make bread and probably crush all sorts of other stuff. Eventually, we realized wheels could be a good way to move stuff around. Before the wheel we know that humanity mostly was using sleds. I am SURE there were “burn baby burn” advocates who really wanted to stick with the sled because learning how to make the wheels was something the next village was better at. I can even imagine there were ranters who were yelling at the sled crowd and turning the transition from sled to wheel into something existential. Neither of these steps are necessary. Use the wheel. Take the win.

As for the folks in the next village who figured out the wheel. If your neighbors next door get belligerent and are sure you have something up your sleeve with your newfangled wheel, sometimes you just have to move on. Maybe they will eventually realize a wheel is actually better than the sled. If they do not, Darwin has already shared a prediction how they will end up. Greta could stop ranting about the people still locked into sleds. Donald could stop ranting how the wheel is a conspiracy. Greta and Donald both are fortunate to live in free societies. I remain hopeful that the majority of people will eventually vote for the wheel and hang the sled in the garage for those days with fresh snow. For you film aficionados, just think about Rosebud.

1. https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/395812.Yuval_Noah_Harari