Klimawandel: Die Logik der Zurückhaltung

hdschulz · Insider Anmeldungsdatum: 27.08.2004 Beiträge: 952

von: steffenh
aus dem blog "Mit dem Kopf voran"
http://www.blogigo.de/kopf_voran/Klimawandel-Die-Logik-der-Zurueckhaltung/5154/

Unsichere wissenschaftliche Kenntnisse und die Logik des politischen Systems geben einer abwartenden Haltung gegenüber drastischen Klimaschutzmaßnahmen einen tieferen Sinn. Donald J. Boudreaux in "The Missing Elements in the "Science" of Global Warming":

Being neither an atmospheric scientist nor a former U.S. vice-president, I haven't the expertise to judge whether or not global warming is a reality or the extent to which humans cause it. Experts who I trust, however, persuade me that science does indeed show that global temperatures are rising and that industrial activity is at least part of the reason. I'm prepared to believe even the possibility that global warming will eventually kill millions of people.

But I nevertheless insist that science does not unambiguously endorse action against global warming. Put differently – and contrary to today's elite opinion – ignoring global warming is not necessarily a sign of scientific illiteracy or of ideologically induced stupidity.

First, human preferences might counsel against tackling global warming. If global warming's ill-effects won't occur for, say, another 150 years, nothing objective says that people today should sacrifice for that distant tomorrow. Such sacrifice might be demanded by ethics – or by human preferences themselves – but not by science.

Second, and more interestingly, sound skepticism of government action to prevent global warming is itself based on science.

Public Choice economics offers objective theory and evidence that political institutions are so prone to malfunctioning that entrusting them with great powers courts great trouble...