One of my biggest takeaways from teaching “The End of the World” was that the paramount threat facing global civilization was climate change — the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that accelerate the warming of the planet. It was, by far, the threat best suited to exploit all the frailties of human decision-making. Decisions made today will not have effects for decades, making it easy to defer solutions to future generations. Concerns about free-riding make it easy for countries to pledge concerted action — contingent on buy-in from other countries. For individuals it is easy to assume that half-measures, like the Paris climate accords, will solve the problem.

Source: Washington Post August 10, 2021 10:52 UTC