While the link “wash clothes > reduce your personal carbon footprint” is definite, my point is that the category of solutions that rely on the link “reduce your personal carbon footprint > solve carbon change” are indefinite.
I’m not seeing much difference in ‘definitedness’ between personal behavior change and “world organization that sets per-country targets” unless it’s just that solving global warming necessarily must involve global government. I think there are a LOT more examples of even ‘intra-country targets’ , for anything (not global warming), being effectively bullshit compared to examples of the opposite. I’m thinking of things like (the U.S.) The War on Drugs, but drug prohibition generally seems to fit pretty well.
And more generally, a lot of ‘government’ solutions seem to be pretty indefinite. It’s a depressingly common feature of government. (And of course governments do implement definite specific policies too, so it’s not an inevitable failure.)
I’m not seeing much difference in ‘definitedness’ between personal behavior change and “world organization that sets per-country targets” unless it’s just that solving global warming necessarily must involve global government.
Yes, I think some minimal level of global coordination may be necessary, and is very likely to play a significant causal role in the eventual outcome. For example, I think the US should feel more comfortable investing in a certain amount of carbon emissions reduction/sequestration knowing that other countries are officially supposed to also do their part.
In contrast, whether individuals focus any effort on reducing their footprint outside of their main system of economic incentives is definitely not going to have a causal role on the outcome.
I’m not seeing much difference in ‘definitedness’ between personal behavior change and “world organization that sets per-country targets” unless it’s just that solving global warming necessarily must involve global government. I think there are a LOT more examples of even ‘intra-country targets’ , for anything (not global warming), being effectively bullshit compared to examples of the opposite. I’m thinking of things like (the U.S.) The War on Drugs, but drug prohibition generally seems to fit pretty well.
And more generally, a lot of ‘government’ solutions seem to be pretty indefinite. It’s a depressingly common feature of government. (And of course governments do implement definite specific policies too, so it’s not an inevitable failure.)
Yes, I think some minimal level of global coordination may be necessary, and is very likely to play a significant causal role in the eventual outcome. For example, I think the US should feel more comfortable investing in a certain amount of carbon emissions reduction/sequestration knowing that other countries are officially supposed to also do their part.
In contrast, whether individuals focus any effort on reducing their footprint outside of their main system of economic incentives is definitely not going to have a causal role on the outcome.