Meeting the Climate Challenge

There's a lot of controversy swirling in the popular imagination around climate change. Some use that as an excuse to delay making serious choices about the issue. But, in Summer of 2007 John Holdren (since then appointed as President Obama's science adviser) gave a clear and persuasive introduction to the climate challenge. Anyone with a more than passing interest can find a full overview of the science, challenges, and policy setting for this important issue. It's sad that so many people in the US so easily accept the idea (invalidated in this presentation) that it's too early to make significant conclusions about this issue. In Europe, the science is more broadly understood and accepted, and the more challenging aspect is the political context.

A very interesting way to look at the political context is to play a game. Climate Challenge is a very interesting popular climate policy simulation where you are asked to play the role of the European "president" to find policy over the course of this century. It really brings into focus the extremely challenging political aspects of the issue that make it so hard to make meangingful progress. There's also a plan to bring out a new version called Climate Challenge 2010.