Photo by Thomas Hawk

Kevin Kelly has a great summary and analysis of Freeman Dyson’s thoughts on global warming.

Some interesting thoughts:

• He describes environmentalism as a new secular religion. “Environmentalism, as a religion of hope and respect for nature, is here to stay. This is a religion that we can all share, whether or not we believe that global warming is harmful. “

• He takes a financial analyst’s view of whether or not we should spend money saving the environment. By looking at interest rates and determining exactly how much one would make investing $1 for 100 years ($54), we get a straightforward figure to use when determining if it is economically viable to pursue specific environmental investments.

  “Therefore, for every dollar spent now on a particular strategy to fight global warming, the investment must reduce the damage caused by warming by an amount that exceeds 54 dollars in one hundred years’ time to accrue a positive economic benefit to society.”

Both are fascinating reads and I highly recommend them.