Source: What Is To Be Done? — Trump and Ecomodernism
Ted Nordhaus, co-founder and executive director of The Breakthrough Institute, shares his views on environmentalism and the upcoming Trump presidency in this linked post. One of many soundbites I appreciated reading:
It is difficult to imagine a democratic path toward an ecomodern future that does not successfully address the twin challenges of immigration and multiculturalism on the one hand and deindustrialization on the other. These challenges are bedeviling advanced developed economies all over the world and represent the underlying crisis of the post-industrial economy and polity. Democracy, civil society, and the environment all demand that we not retreat back to our silos to advocate for the narrow technical, regulatory, and bureaucratic solutions in which we have become expert.
Ted addresses specifics in energy investment and policy, reiterating the controversial-yet-compelling Breakthrough position:
Our view at Breakthrough remains that macro-economic conditions, technological change, and public investment in innovation and infrastructure are the primary determinants of global emissions. At least insofar as climate change is concerned, a Trump Presidency may not be much worse than a Clinton Presidency would have been, for the simple reason that explicit climate policy has had little impact upon the trajectory of emissions pretty much anywhere in the world.
May the conversation continue! And thanks to people like Ted for adopting novel positions, and for connecting the dots.
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