Regardless of skepticism, financial advantages will drive local weather safety – what’s occurring with that?

Essay by Eric Worrall

According to anthropology professor Ron Barrett, you don't have to believe in climate protection to benefit from renewable energy. But the professor has overlooked an important point.

Can humanity tackle climate change without believing in it? Medical history suggests it can

Published: 10 July 2024, 10.14pm AEST
Ron Barrett
Professor of Anthropology, Macalester College

Strange as it may sound, the early germ theorists could tell us a lot about today's attitudes toward climate change.

While researching a new book on the history of emerging infections, I found many similarities between the early debates about the existence of microbes and the current debates about the existence of global warming.

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This was the case in the last decades of the 19th century, when aseptic surgeons nevertheless adopted the antiseptic techniques of Joseph Lister.

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In response to these allegations, Lister stated:

“If any one supposes that the septic material is not of the nature of living organisms, but is a so-called chemical ferment, without vitality… such an idea, however unfounded in my opinion, and not supported by any scientific evidence, is, from a practical point of view, equivalent to a germ theory, since it inculcates exactly the same methods of antiseptic treatment.”

Lister was more interested in saving lives than in winning arguments. As long as surgeons used his methods, he was not concerned with their justification. When it came to preventing infections, behavior, not belief, counted.

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Republicans are more likely to emphasize the economic benefits of renewable energy than Democrats, who tend to cite global warming as their driving concern.

The economic benefits may explain why “red” states generate the largest share of America's wind energy and why three of those states are among the country's top five solar energy producers. Their deployment is linked to the geography of the wind and solar belts, where farmers see good returns on electricity generation and a stable source of income that cushions the price fluctuations of weather-sensitive crops. Livelihood is a powerful motivator.

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Read more: https://theconversation.com/can-humanity-address-climate-change-without-believing-it-medical-history-suggests-it-is-possible-230936

I fully understand why people who don't believe in the climate crisis still respond to economic incentives.

A decade ago, Anthony Watts discussed why he installed solar panels on his own home.

The problem with Professor Ron Barrett's theory of why people exploiting market-distorting subsidies are pushing for the adoption of renewable energy is that it is in no way a solution to the world's energy problems.

In the absence of affordable, long-term energy storage, all renewable energy systems must be backed up by a dual, on-demand energy system that can be activated immediately when the renewables fail—which often happens. The cost of maintaining two parallel systems—the fake renewable system and the on-demand system that produces power on the days or weeks when the renewables don't work—drives up energy bills in states and countries that have embraced renewables.

In Australia, the threat that the next government will cut subsidies for renewable energy and invest in nuclear power instead seems to have dampened investment enthusiasm. Renewable energy cannot compete with real energy, not even nuclear power.

The farce of farmers filling their fields with renewable energy will only continue as long as taxpayer subsidies make it profitable. Once the subsidies dry up, so will the profits and the number of new plants.

The great surgeon Joseph Lister is one of my heroes. There is a great documentary about Lister that I watched many years ago as a child (unfortunately I can't find the link) that details how Lister campaigned tirelessly and got everyone in the hospital to wash their hands and perform antiseptic and aseptic surgery after realising the damage that was being done by the transmission of contaminated material between patients.

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