This article is a review of William MacAskill’s new book “What We Owe the Future.” According to the review, the book rejects the scientific consensus that we have roughly a decade left to initiate the changes needed to preserve a living planet capable of supporting a complex civilization. In fact, even MacAskill’s “worst-case” climate scenario—the burning of 300 years’ worth of fossil fuels, resulting in three trillion tons of emitted carbon—is a survivable scenario with a sunny side.
thenewrepublic OP t1_iu1fpwy wrote
Reply to The Heavy Price of Longtermism | Longtermists focus on ensuring humanity’s existence into the far future. But not without sacrifices in the present. by thenewrepublic
Submission statement:
This article is a review of William MacAskill’s new book “What We Owe the Future.” According to the review, the book rejects the scientific consensus that we have roughly a decade left to initiate the changes needed to preserve a living planet capable of supporting a complex civilization. In fact, even MacAskill’s “worst-case” climate scenario—the burning of 300 years’ worth of fossil fuels, resulting in three trillion tons of emitted carbon—is a survivable scenario with a sunny side.