Under Discussion: Combating Climate Change

“It’s a new day in America.” With President Biden signaling a change in course regarding environmental policy — rejoining the Paris agreement, reversing Arctic drilling policies, revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, and revising emission and energy regulations — it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the laundry list of complications any concerted effort to combat climate change must confront. From the lack of global governance to the ever-expanding appetites of human consumption, there exists a surplus of practical problems and philosophical puzzles (not to mention psychological peculiarities) that have made awareness, discussion, decision, and action all feel like overwhelming endeavors. Where does one even begin?

This week, our writers try to smooth out these snags and hitches by pinning down all the various strands of the knotty problem we now face with the hope of untangling this unmanageable mess.

-Tucker Sechrest

Matthew Silk — “Undermining a Democratic Response”

Evan Butts — “The Marginalization of the Future”

Rachel Robison-Greene — “Economic Concerns for a Green Future”

Kiara Goodwine — “The Moral Necessity of International Agreements”

A.G. Holdier — “Conspiracy Theories, Climate Change, and the Crisis of Trust”

Marshall Thompson — “Global Warming and the Right to Risk Wrong“