Thursday, February 5, 2015

The Climate Activist Responds

In response to my post, I Meet a Climate Concern Activist and Cave, the activist has emailed me:
Hi Robert,

I very much enjoyed reading your blog! And I am very touched by you agreeing to not post the video.

Really, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!I

Can you please send me the video so i can watch it? I'd like to review my answers and improve my public speaking.


btw, i was wrong about fracking extracting coal, but i was not wrong about it extracting natural gas.

Furthermore, my rebuttal to your argument about local vs. global weather patterns stands, which is that local conditions do not necessarily predict global patterns, and vice versa.  It is a complicated interplay of factors occuring on different scales.  You ask how it is possible for one understand global dynamics without an understanding of local dynamics. I reject the question, because, as one increases the scale of your inquiry, factors occurring on a smaller scale (time scale and/or spatial scale) may or may not be relevant.  Do you need to understand the economic dynamics of palo alto, california as a prerequisite of for understanding a general theory of economics, or an economic analysis of california?  Evolutionary biologists can tell you about the theory of evolution without knowing the evolutionary details of every single species.

Maybe we can have a drink sometime and hash this out...

Either way, thank you again for respecting my wishes and and engaging in dialogue on some very important issues!

Wishing you the best!

Sincerely,

12 comments:

  1. I eagerly await the next chapter in this saga. Maybe she will agree to have the next encounter recorded as she will have time to prepare for it.

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  2. Read between the lines. The next "encounter" will not be recorded. Bob got game.

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    1. Good deal. I was wondering why he passed on the opportunity the first time around, apparently he hasn't.

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  3. So she seems to be implying that she, in fact, does understand global weather patterns and their relationship to mans burning of fossil fuels. Interesting, especially since, IMO, no one on earth can claim that knowledge.

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  4. "Maybe we can have a drink sometime and hash this out..."

    Sounds like you're a player RW.

    :)

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  5. It's good to see some mercy in the merciless business of politics. Well done, RW.

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  6. You should go for it Robert. I thought whoever helped her write the email did a nice job, of course once she has to defend her views on her own again hilarity will continue to ensue.

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  7. Try this one on her: global warming will save the rainforrest. What do humans build greenhouses for anyways?

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  8. You can tell her about real economic theory, and methodological individualism. That'll blow her little liberal mind.

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  9. She needs to work on her cut and paste technique.

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  10. RW gave no ground on principle. Presented the opportunity, he forced issues to the front. Yet he maintained a positive personal connection amidst conflict.

    In so doing he moved one of the ignorant to re-examine her own beliefs rationally! Now it is she asking to engage in a discussion of what is the truth. This heroic tale draws a tear to my eye. I hope they do meet for drinks and her first step in the right direction continues.

    If we all become good at doing this, and the people we did it to in turn did it to others, we could change the world. The young people handing out climate change flyers could switch to handing out end-the-Fed flyers.

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  11. She almost gets something right. Climateology and Meteorology are not the same fields of study. I'd give her the point buy she demonstrates that she thinks that they are but they are just studying different scales.

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