Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Being Right or Making Money











You probably suspected I would break my own pledge not to write about "climate hawks" any more, but I doubt even the most cynical among you thought I'd do it within 24 hours! Shows what you know.


I want to correct one mistake people seem to be making about the climate hawk/dove spectrum. Being a climate hawk does not require any particular position on climate science. There is no scientific "litmus test." In fact, one's position on the hawk/dove spectrum is orthogonal to one's position on climate science. In my last post, I said:



The hawk/dove distinction -- on climate as on foreign policy or the deficit -- is about more than facts. It's about risk assessment. How serious is the threat and how strong a response is warranted? Answering those questions goes beyond facts into economic, ethical, and policy judgments. It's not about what to believe, it's about what to do.



To help get clear about this, let's do a crude exercise. Here are two positions on climate change science:



1. Climate science shows that climate change is a serious, pressing threat.
2. Climate science is uncertain and the risks of climate change are distant and highly speculative (or climate change is a big hoax).


Here are two positions on climate and clean energy policy:


A. Action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build out clean energy will be socially and economically beneficial: it will save consumers money, increase the nation's energy security, and create jobs.
B. Action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build out clean energy will be prohibitively costly: it will cost consumers money, decrease energy security, and destroy jobs.


You can now see four distinct positions:


1A. Climate hawk.
1B. Climate hawk or dove (depending which is judged higher, the threat or the costs).
2A. Climate hawk.
2B. Climate dove.


Of course this is reductive: there are many positions on the spectrum between 1 and 2, and between A and B, and thus there are many nuanced positions along the climate hawk/dove spectrum. (I'm sure some enterprising reader could turn this into a cool infographic.) Climate hawks will have divergent views about the science, as will doves.


Point is: the hawk/dove spectrum implies nothing in particular about one's scientific views. It is supposed to capture where you come out after weighing the risks, no matter what you think the respective risks are.


------


UPDATE: One thing I meant to add is that in the wake of the climate bill failure, Obama seems to be specifically trying to target 2's, converting 2B's into 2A's. Here's how he pitches it, from his National Journal interview:


y approach to Republicans would be to say, "Regardless of what you think about climate change, here are a bunch of things that are smart to do. It will save consumers money, it will save the country as much money going into foreign oil imports, so let’s concentrate on things that we just know are smart to do." If we do that, we can probably get a quarter of the way there in terms of where we need to be in terms of carbon emissions. The other thing we need to do is to make investments in new energy sources, clean-energy sources, because the unit costs for clean-energy are still higher than they are for traditional fossil fuels. I had a group of businessmen in here led by Bill Gates that said, "Probably the most important thing we might be able to do right now is to triple our R&D budget for energy," because right now it’s about a third of what the NIH gets for health research. Why not boost this so that we can make faster strides? Even when you talk to somebody like Steven Chu, my Energy secretary, who knows the science of climate change and takes it very seriously, as do I, he’s the first one to acknowledge that we’re going to need some transformative technologies in order for us to get all the way to where we need to be on climate change. The point is that there’s things that we can do short-term on that don’t require you to perfectly agree on the science of climate change in order for you to think that it’s beneficial for Americans long-term.

In other words, he's saying, you ought to be a climate hawk even if you're unconvinced or unmoved by climate science.















So, be sure to file this rumor under “just in case,” but IESB – who has been known to have connections at Lucasfilm in the past – is currently reporting that Lucas is “plotting to create” new Star Wars movies which would be released after the six three 3D re-releases and would take place far in the future, not relating to the Skywalkers. More after the jump? You bet we do.


“This is, of course, completely false,” Lucasfilm spokesman Josh Kushins wrote to Wired. “George Lucas has plenty of projects to keep him busy right now — including plenty of Star Wars projects — but there are no new Star Wars feature films planned.”


What are they going to say, though, right? “Damn it. You got us. George Lucas has a whole new pair of trilogies being planned for later this decade.” Let’s be serious. Whether or not this rumor is true or false, Lucasfilm has to deny it.


In the IESB piece, they back up their source by informing readers that they broke the news of Revenge of the Sith’s PG-13 rating, the live action TV show as well as The Clone Wars show. They believe that’s enough to substantiate the rumor.


Specifically, they report that while working on the 3D conversions of the new films, which will begin in 2012 with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Lucas “has gotten the itch.” He has “gotten motivated with the success the Clone Wars animated series, the video games and also with the success of Avatar.”


The sequels, not prequels, would not focus on the Skywalkers, but instead be set in the future. Same universe, but totally different story. By doing this, Lucas doesn’t have to fit pieces into a puzzle like he had to do with the prequels. And he has stated that that process was creatively constricting to him.


So, apparently, his plan is work on all the 3D movies, make several hundred million more dollars, then use that money to make new movies  – hopefully releasing the first one within a year or two of the Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 3D release would would be in like 2017.


We know. This rumor is crazy. And we only report it as a rumor because it’s such a juicy one and it keeps coming up. But, one time, it’s bound to be true, right?


I can’t wait to read your comments on this one.


<b>News</b> Article “ « Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr.

October 26, 2010...2:01 pm. News Article “. There was a news article today in the Boulder Camera by Laura Snider titled. Boulder scientists: Space tourism could contribute to climate change. The article includes the text ...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

<b>News</b> - Rep: Blake Lively, Penn Badgley Split! - Celebrity <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

"They're still good friends," an insider tells the new Us Weekly.


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See Pluto....I was right by bulldog1


<b>News</b> Article “ « Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr.

October 26, 2010...2:01 pm. News Article “. There was a news article today in the Boulder Camera by Laura Snider titled. Boulder scientists: Space tourism could contribute to climate change. The article includes the text ...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

<b>News</b> - Rep: Blake Lively, Penn Badgley Split! - Celebrity <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

"They're still good friends," an insider tells the new Us Weekly.


bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints










You probably suspected I would break my own pledge not to write about "climate hawks" any more, but I doubt even the most cynical among you thought I'd do it within 24 hours! Shows what you know.


I want to correct one mistake people seem to be making about the climate hawk/dove spectrum. Being a climate hawk does not require any particular position on climate science. There is no scientific "litmus test." In fact, one's position on the hawk/dove spectrum is orthogonal to one's position on climate science. In my last post, I said:



The hawk/dove distinction -- on climate as on foreign policy or the deficit -- is about more than facts. It's about risk assessment. How serious is the threat and how strong a response is warranted? Answering those questions goes beyond facts into economic, ethical, and policy judgments. It's not about what to believe, it's about what to do.



To help get clear about this, let's do a crude exercise. Here are two positions on climate change science:



1. Climate science shows that climate change is a serious, pressing threat.
2. Climate science is uncertain and the risks of climate change are distant and highly speculative (or climate change is a big hoax).


Here are two positions on climate and clean energy policy:


A. Action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build out clean energy will be socially and economically beneficial: it will save consumers money, increase the nation's energy security, and create jobs.
B. Action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build out clean energy will be prohibitively costly: it will cost consumers money, decrease energy security, and destroy jobs.


You can now see four distinct positions:


1A. Climate hawk.
1B. Climate hawk or dove (depending which is judged higher, the threat or the costs).
2A. Climate hawk.
2B. Climate dove.


Of course this is reductive: there are many positions on the spectrum between 1 and 2, and between A and B, and thus there are many nuanced positions along the climate hawk/dove spectrum. (I'm sure some enterprising reader could turn this into a cool infographic.) Climate hawks will have divergent views about the science, as will doves.


Point is: the hawk/dove spectrum implies nothing in particular about one's scientific views. It is supposed to capture where you come out after weighing the risks, no matter what you think the respective risks are.


------


UPDATE: One thing I meant to add is that in the wake of the climate bill failure, Obama seems to be specifically trying to target 2's, converting 2B's into 2A's. Here's how he pitches it, from his National Journal interview:


y approach to Republicans would be to say, "Regardless of what you think about climate change, here are a bunch of things that are smart to do. It will save consumers money, it will save the country as much money going into foreign oil imports, so let’s concentrate on things that we just know are smart to do." If we do that, we can probably get a quarter of the way there in terms of where we need to be in terms of carbon emissions. The other thing we need to do is to make investments in new energy sources, clean-energy sources, because the unit costs for clean-energy are still higher than they are for traditional fossil fuels. I had a group of businessmen in here led by Bill Gates that said, "Probably the most important thing we might be able to do right now is to triple our R&D budget for energy," because right now it’s about a third of what the NIH gets for health research. Why not boost this so that we can make faster strides? Even when you talk to somebody like Steven Chu, my Energy secretary, who knows the science of climate change and takes it very seriously, as do I, he’s the first one to acknowledge that we’re going to need some transformative technologies in order for us to get all the way to where we need to be on climate change. The point is that there’s things that we can do short-term on that don’t require you to perfectly agree on the science of climate change in order for you to think that it’s beneficial for Americans long-term.

In other words, he's saying, you ought to be a climate hawk even if you're unconvinced or unmoved by climate science.















So, be sure to file this rumor under “just in case,” but IESB – who has been known to have connections at Lucasfilm in the past – is currently reporting that Lucas is “plotting to create” new Star Wars movies which would be released after the six three 3D re-releases and would take place far in the future, not relating to the Skywalkers. More after the jump? You bet we do.


“This is, of course, completely false,” Lucasfilm spokesman Josh Kushins wrote to Wired. “George Lucas has plenty of projects to keep him busy right now — including plenty of Star Wars projects — but there are no new Star Wars feature films planned.”


What are they going to say, though, right? “Damn it. You got us. George Lucas has a whole new pair of trilogies being planned for later this decade.” Let’s be serious. Whether or not this rumor is true or false, Lucasfilm has to deny it.


In the IESB piece, they back up their source by informing readers that they broke the news of Revenge of the Sith’s PG-13 rating, the live action TV show as well as The Clone Wars show. They believe that’s enough to substantiate the rumor.


Specifically, they report that while working on the 3D conversions of the new films, which will begin in 2012 with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Lucas “has gotten the itch.” He has “gotten motivated with the success the Clone Wars animated series, the video games and also with the success of Avatar.”


The sequels, not prequels, would not focus on the Skywalkers, but instead be set in the future. Same universe, but totally different story. By doing this, Lucas doesn’t have to fit pieces into a puzzle like he had to do with the prequels. And he has stated that that process was creatively constricting to him.


So, apparently, his plan is work on all the 3D movies, make several hundred million more dollars, then use that money to make new movies  – hopefully releasing the first one within a year or two of the Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 3D release would would be in like 2017.


We know. This rumor is crazy. And we only report it as a rumor because it’s such a juicy one and it keeps coming up. But, one time, it’s bound to be true, right?


I can’t wait to read your comments on this one.


bench craft company complaints

<b>News</b> Article “ « Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr.

October 26, 2010...2:01 pm. News Article “. There was a news article today in the Boulder Camera by Laura Snider titled. Boulder scientists: Space tourism could contribute to climate change. The article includes the text ...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

<b>News</b> - Rep: Blake Lively, Penn Badgley Split! - Celebrity <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

"They're still good friends," an insider tells the new Us Weekly.


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<b>News</b> Article “ « Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr.

October 26, 2010...2:01 pm. News Article “. There was a news article today in the Boulder Camera by Laura Snider titled. Boulder scientists: Space tourism could contribute to climate change. The article includes the text ...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

<b>News</b> - Rep: Blake Lively, Penn Badgley Split! - Celebrity <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

"They're still good friends," an insider tells the new Us Weekly.


bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

<b>News</b> Article “ « Climate Science: Roger Pielke Sr.

October 26, 2010...2:01 pm. News Article “. There was a news article today in the Boulder Camera by Laura Snider titled. Boulder scientists: Space tourism could contribute to climate change. The article includes the text ...

PalmAddicts: Traffic jam <b>news</b>

[From Mauricio Tanzi, Costa Rica] Hi Sammy! Just wanted to let you know that I'm stuck in traffic and in need for enerteinment.... What can I so? Just pop out my Palm Pre Plus and enjoy the rush hour with...

<b>News</b> - Rep: Blake Lively, Penn Badgley Split! - Celebrity <b>News</b> <b>...</b>

"They're still good friends," an insider tells the new Us Weekly.


bench craft company complaints bench craft company complaints

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