In Michael Shellenberger’s book, Apocalypse Never, he attempts to set the record straight and reveal the true science behind climate change and environmentalist.
The world is on fire, sea levels will soon swamp our homes, and many animals are on the brink of extinction. That’s the storyline proffered by many, but is it true? Many in the climate change crowed claim greedy westerns have caused global warming and climate change, and we have only a few years to act before mother earth suffers irreparable harm. The alarm bells are loud, but Shellenberger, doesn’t buy it – at least not anymore.
Why Care About What Shellenberger Says?
Shellenberger’s Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All is a sensible and honest accounting of the environmental movement. He is the real deal. Shellenberger is a scientist and professor who has worked on behalf of environmental causes for more than 30 years. Moreover, much of his work was the basis of the Obama administrations environmental policy. According to Shellenberger, most of his arguments use data and research from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations (FAO). His concern is that the actual science is being perverted by political opportunist who draw misleading conclusions from the data.
The climate is always changing, Shellenberger asserts, because that’s what climate does. This basic tenet is often overlooked by the climate industry. His other points include: Showing how fish farms can save the oceans, Proving we are not witnessing the “6th extinction,” and Demonstrating that solar and wind are poor power producers, but massive polluters.
These concepts are simple enough, but there is much more to understanding the state of the environment. Accordingly, Shellenberger takes on larger misunderstandings. Six of his contentions deserve more robust explanations.
We are Not Witnessing the End of the World
Despite the news and hype, Shellenberger is optimistic. Environmentalism often distorts reality. He sees temperatures rising, but demonstrates the data shows developed nations have reduced carbon emissions for over a decade. More importantly, the evidence does not support the conclusion that earth’s temperature will reach a tipping point. In other words, whatever temperature rise we are experiencing is manageable and not going to cause global cataclysm.
Where we should focus is getting developing nations, as well as China and Russia, caught up with the US and Europe, so they too will begin to decline emissions. Natural gas and nuclear, he argues, would be a major benefit, but activist oppose these sensible measures.
The World’s Forest are Doing Pretty Well
The Amazon rainforest is not the world’s lungs. Many in the media argue the Amazon is eroding and that alone will make earth uninhabitable. It’s not true. We are not going to all die because of deforestation in the Amazon – and actually Europe developed just like Brazil using fossil fuels and deforestation so let’s not be too high minded.
The facts are these: The amount of forests burned annually has reduced in recent decades and tree growth outpaces tree loss over the past thirty-five years by an area the size of Alaska and Texas combined. Add to that forty percent of world has seen “greening” since the early 1980s, and it’s obvious we don’t have a deforestation problem. Lastly, trees are renewable resources. The focus should not be on illogical ideas like we are all dying because Brazil cuts trees. The focus should be on how can we grow more greenspaces because that’s something people can and will do.
Plastic Straws are Not Destroying the Earth
Shellenberger clearly thinks we should keep small plastics out of the oceans, but it’s important to recognize the seriously minuet impact this has on the planet. Small plastic breaks down when exposed to direct sunlight so a plastic straw floating in the ocean is weakened and then disintegrates. More importantly, there are other major threats like overfishing, large fishing nets, and massive litter and other pollutants being dumped into the oceans by poor nations. These concerns are much more pressing, according to Shellenberger.
Nuclear Power Works
Nuclear power has tremendous energy and little waste, which makes it crazy not to use. Anyone serious about reducing carbon emissions has to consider nuclear. Unfortunately, environmental alarmist are as opposed to nuclear as they are fossil fuels. The fact that they do not support nuclear proves they are not seriously concerned about fossil fuels.
Natural Disasters are Not Worsening
Natural disasters are terrible, but they are not worse today than they have been in the past. For starters, people living in developed nations are much more equipped to deal with natural disaster than in the past. We know when hurricanes are coming, for instance, and buildings are sturdy enough to withstand most earthquakes. This knowledge helps mitigate damage from natural disasters.
Not only are western nations more equipped than ever to withstand natural disasters, but the truth is there are no more hurricanes, now then in the past, wildfires are not more regular or intense, and droughts are not more severe today compared to a century ago. Part of the misunderstanding is that we have better resources to let us know when minor storms, earthquakes, or volcanos are occurring. A very minor hurricane that never made landfall was not registered 30 years ago. Now, if a storm is a tropical storm for just a few minutes out in the ocean, it’s picked up and named. Wildfires a hundred miles away from a city, were mostly unknown. Now they are enthusiastically reported as potentially dangerous. Media has become so sensationalized that reporting danger, even when it doesn’t exist, drives viewership and advertisement sales. The media hype is often more related to making money than telling the truth.
“False Gods for Lost Souls”
“Environmentalism today is the dominant secular religion of the educated, upper-middle class elite in most developed and many developing nations. It produces a new story about our collective individual purpose. It designates good guys and bad guys, heroes and villains. And it does so in the languages of science, which provides it with legitimacy.”
Environmentalism, Shellenberger continues, leaves little room for the Judeo-Christian world view. His description of some environmentalist makes them look cult like, especially the way they brainwash young vulnerable minds. Rich nations actually conserve resources, have game parks and national parks, manage renewable resources, and engage in cleaner use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are better than using wood because it’s more efficient and it allows more forest and grasslands to grow. Fossil fuels allow for more unspoiled natural land, which in turn helps ecosystems thrive and promotes a multitude of positive, natural functions necessary for life. This perspective is absent in environmentalist circles today.
What changed?
Shellenberger witnessed a fundamental shift away from data driven solutions to politically expedient conclusions. The global left hijacked the environmental movement. In doing so, environmental extremist categorically rejected the environments most helpful ally: Capitalism.
What is most compelling about Shellenberger’s take is his sincerity. He finds most people are not climate change deniers or exaggerators. Conservation and environmental awareness is moving in a positive direction. Most rational people want to help the planet. Inspiring people to help make minor changes is a much more productive, and honest, approach than the environmental extremism dominating headlines.
Shellenberger uses data and research to prove neo-environmentalist have reached the wrong conclusions. In doing so, he has done the world a great service by perhaps uniting the various factions behind accurate telling of the truth. Shellenberger’s work reveals the most inconvenient truth for some politicians is that free market capitalism will save the planet.
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