Climate Alarmism or Pascal's Wager?

Blaise Pascal, the 17^th Century religious philosopher and mathematician, asks us to consider his “Wager,” which says faith is a good bet:

1. The consequences of non-belief in God are hell and damnation.
2. The costs of believing in God are low by comparison, though still costly. (You can’t live any way you like, for example.)
3. If you believe – even if there’s no hell and damnation – you won’t lose everything.
4. But if there is a hell, you lose everything.
5. So, if you’re going to make a safe bet, believe in God.

Of course, a religious person might argue with Pascal that faith isn’t about placing bets. But we can agree, perhaps, that global warming alarmism takes on a strikingly similar form. 

1. The consequences of skepticism about manmade Global Warming are catastrophic.
2. The costs of “green” taxes and regulations are low by comparison, though still costly. (You can’t live anyway you like, for example.)
3. If you’ll just believe man causes global warming – even if there is no catastrophe – you won’t lose everything.
4. But if there is catastrophe, you lose everything.
5. So, if you’re going to make a safe bet, introduce green taxes and regulation.

I’ll leave it to the reader to decide whether the largest tax increase in American history (cap-and-trade or carbon taxes) will be based on faith, a ‘safe bet,’ or something else. But when you consider the broader question – Is environmentalism a religion? – significant indicators point to a green ideology based more in faith and fear than in fact.

Comments

[Neo Jon]

I once often heard the question "Do you BELIEVE in global warming (or climate change, whatever)?" Funny how it needs my "belief" rather than "rational understanding".

That said, I support the idea of green technology innovations as a way to lessen the fears. I encourage decreasing the /use of energy/. This differs from decreasing the /use of electricity/ at the expense of doing more and enjoying life. Some perverse green advocates support the latter (with the most perverse supporting ONLY the latter) which sounds akin to a religious fundamentalism.