‘Ecomodernist Counters Climate Change Activists, Debunks “Misinformation” About Planetary Health’
Michael Shellenberger argues that the earth is currently in a healthy state, with a decrease in bushfires, floods, and deaths compared to previous decades. He believes that the lack of media reporting on this positive state of the planet is a significant case of climate misinformation. Shellenberger, an energy expert based in California and co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute and the California Peace Coalition, challenges the mainstream narrative on climate change. He asserts that societies with high energy consumption are crucial for resolving environmental issues.
Contrary to the media’s coverage of a climate “apocalypse,” Shellenberger highlights that carbon emissions in the United States have already decreased by 22 percent between 2005 and 2020, mainly due to the transition from coal to natural gas. Furthermore, he points out that the peak of carbon emissions in the United Kingdom occurred over 50 years ago. He refers to an analysis by the International Energy Agency, which suggests that global carbon emissions could peak as early as 2023.
Shellenberger also reveals that the amount of land affected by bushfires has decreased by 35 percent, and the impact of flooding worldwide has also diminished, including in China and Pakistan. He emphasizes that many once-endangered species have made a recovery, such as the Hawksbill Sea Turtle, accusing climate change activists of discrediting the work of conservationists. He states that less than 1 percent of species have been lost since 1500.
Moreover, Shellenberger highlights that deaths resulting from natural disasters have decreased by over 90 percent, and the global cost of disasters has reduced over the past 30 years. He compares this data to the approximately 300-500 deaths per year from disasters in the United States, contrasting it with the approximately 100,000 deaths from drug overdoses in 2022. Shellenberger believes that these declining costs and deaths have led to an overall decrease in weather and climate disasters, which he claims the mainstream media has failed to accurately report.
Shellenberger advocates for a “pro-human vision” when dealing with energy issues, which includes embracing energy abundance, unlocking prosperity, and achieving environmental progress. He argues that using more energy, rather than less, is the solution to protecting the environment. He asserts that energy consumption has lifted many people out of poverty and has enabled a reduction in the amount of land required to produce food. He stresses that there are no rich low-energy countries or poor high-energy countries.
The energy expert identifies nuclear power as the safest and cleanest energy source, requiring significantly less land compared to solar and wind energy. He criticizes Germany’s approach to reducing per capita energy consumption, suggesting that they should not aim to reach the energy consumption levels of less-developed countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, or India. Shellenberger believes it took approximately 20 years to debunk the misconception that wealth and prosperity can be achieved without a high-energy economy.
Shellenberger also questions the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy sources as they scale up. He claims that the value of wind and solar energy decreases as they make up a larger proportion of an electricity grid. He argues that the costs of transmission lines, storage, and re-engineering gas plants are often not taken into account when renewable advocates discuss their lower costs. He adds a controversial statement about solar panels being cheap due to being made by persecuted religious minorities in concentration camps, expressing the need to stop supporting such products.
Furthermore, Shellenberger suggests that the fervor behind the climate change movement is linked to the rise of atheism and secularization. He believes that the climate change narrative bears similarities to religious ideas. Shellenberger suggests that when individuals do not have a belief in God or religion, they create new secular religions to provide meaning and purpose. He quotes G.K. Chesterton, stating that “the problem of disbelieving in God is not that man ends up believing nothing. Alas, it’s much worse than that. He ends up believing anything.”
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