A _really_ thought-provoking essay by Princeton physicist Freeman Dyson (I just checked, and yes, that's the same Dyson that came up with Dyson sphere that Star Trek fans may be familiar with).
That may be the first essay to make me seriously question to what degree climate change is really a crisis. That said, I think his distinction between humanists and naturalists is specious. As Dyson himself so beautifully illustrates, we basically have no fucking idea what the planet is doing, let alone what it would do in response to any actions we might take. What we do know is that nature, as we have experienced it thus far, is capable of adequately sustaining human life. We don't know if that will continue to be the case if we fuck with it. Hence, when the very fate of humanity is at stake, erring on the side of "don't fuck with things" seems prudent. Moreover, seen in this light, "if we stop fucking with things, there are some people who won't make as much money!" seems a particularly retarded argument.
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