Comments on: The Summer before the Fall https://www.habitablezone.com/2018/05/14/the-summer-before-the-fall/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:41:18 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://www.habitablezone.com/2018/05/14/the-summer-before-the-fall/#comment-41487 ER Tue, 15 May 2018 04:42:24 +0000 https://habitablezone.com/?p=70937#comment-41487 The social and economic changes brought about by global warming can also be seen as an opportunity. If the ice caps melt, then exploitation of polar resources will become easier and cheaper. As vital commodities become scarcer, their prices will go up, and those with the capital to acquire them will prosper accordingly. Massive drought will have to be remediated by massive irrigation projects, and the migration inland of coastal populations will have to be supported by enormous investments in transport, resettlement and construction. Some areas will become useless for agriculture, but others, now desolate, will become the breadbaskets of the future. Providing those zones with agricultural technology and support (and marketing all that produce) will be a source of enormous profits. Forget about the ocean, as long as there's enough water to float ships it won't matter how polluted or lifeless it is. And of course, any war and conflict will be a further reason for investment, it always has been. In fact, war has always been good for business. Look at how we came out of WWII. What is destroyed, whether it be by enemy action, civil unrest or coastal flooding, must be replaced and it is much easier to mobilize financial resources and development in times of crisis and confusion. The gummint will issue AGW Bonds! I realize this analysis may be simplistic, but I'm not being totally facetious. Whether those observations are true or not, the fact remains, many people <em>actually believe</em> them to be true, and they are not likely to be too concerned about avoiding the grim future you predict. "The human race is adaptable, we will survive. We always have." They don't see this as a time of crisis, but one of "opportunity". Technology will save us. enterprise will save us. Investment in the future will save us. And of course, someone's going to have to finance this effort, and isn't that what we do best? Come to think of it, providing financing for the response to climate change will allow us to profit from that change before it actually happens! Remember, debt isn't just a way to have future wealth pay for current investment, it is also a way for us to profit today from tomorrow's debt. If you're smart, you can make out on both ends! Besides, the catastrophes you describe mean demand will go through the roof, and labor will be real cheap. Profits will be unprecedented. Come to think of it, maybe convincing people of the hard times ahead is counter-productive. There are aliens among us who are actually looking forward to them. They expect to make out like a bandit; and if something really bad does happen, well, they will be the last to be affected, won't they? The social and economic changes brought about by global warming can also be seen as an opportunity. If the ice caps melt, then exploitation of polar resources will become easier and cheaper. As vital commodities become scarcer, their prices will go up, and those with the capital to acquire them will prosper accordingly. Massive drought will have to be remediated by massive irrigation projects, and the migration inland of coastal populations will have to be supported by enormous investments in transport, resettlement and construction.

Some areas will become useless for agriculture, but others, now desolate, will become the breadbaskets of the future. Providing those zones with agricultural technology and support (and marketing all that produce) will be a source of enormous profits. Forget about the ocean, as long as there’s enough water to float ships it won’t matter how polluted or lifeless it is.

And of course, any war and conflict will be a further reason for investment, it always has been. In fact, war has always been good for business. Look at how we came out of WWII. What is destroyed, whether it be by enemy action, civil unrest or coastal flooding, must be replaced and it is much easier to mobilize financial resources and development in times of crisis and confusion. The gummint will issue AGW Bonds!

I realize this analysis may be simplistic, but I’m not being totally facetious. Whether those observations are true or not, the fact remains, many people actually believe them to be true, and they are not likely to be too concerned about avoiding the grim future you predict. “The human race is adaptable, we will survive. We always have.” They don’t see this as a time of crisis, but one of “opportunity”. Technology will save us. enterprise will save us. Investment in the future will save us. And of course, someone’s going to have to finance this effort, and isn’t that what we do best? Come to think of it, providing financing for the response to climate change will allow us to profit from that change before it actually happens! Remember, debt isn’t just a way to have future wealth pay for current investment, it is also a way for us to profit today from tomorrow’s debt. If you’re smart, you can make out on both ends!

Besides, the catastrophes you describe mean demand will go through the roof, and labor will be real cheap. Profits will be unprecedented. Come to think of it, maybe convincing people of the hard times ahead is counter-productive. There are aliens among us who are actually looking forward to them. They expect to make out like a bandit; and if something really bad does happen, well, they will be the last to be affected, won’t they?

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