Classic reactionary centrist: Attack and delegitimize specific efforts by activists while demanding vague platitudes as an alternative. "Don't protest the construction of the Keystone pipeline you communists, push for energy abundance while transitioning to a low-carbon economy!"

Not to harp on the gas stoves bit, but what does he think the impact of making "energy" abundant while making fossil fuels expensive would look like for people who rely on gas appliances? Suddenly expensive if the apartment complex uses gas, but cheap if it uses electricity

If I were Michael's doctor, I'd probably tell him to stop reading YM. I think it might be a stroke risk factor.

Seriously, climate dilettantes write this exact article every year.

How are people still falling for the "effective altruist" thing? Its literally just baffling people with bullshit numbers to justify rich people doing literally anything they want in the name of some far off goal. It is neither effective nor altruistic.

Destroying irreplaceable land, resources, and habitats is never acceptable to a stable energy future, specifically because we *can't* go back and fix it all once some energy utopia is reached--which it never will, if we keep allowing fossil fuels to produce as normal so nothing has to change.

Ah yes, the old “X is good but any specific tactic you use to get X is wrong” bit.

Another reactionary centrist thing is to criticize minor policy changes as too small and major policy changes as too large. The EU has passed a ton of environmental legislation recently and the US just passed the IRA! Banning bottle caps is not activists' only idea. bsky.app/profile/carn...

"Whatever you're doing that might make change but also inconvenience some people with money - stop it. Sit around and do vision boards instead!"

"Regulatory action," you say? Like regulating gas stoves?

I'm sure this approach will have no trouble getting the guys who roll coal on board with taxing carbon. What a genius Yascha is!