David Evans, greenhouse sceptic debates his views on Troppo

Please note that this post was selected for the Best Blogs 2008 feature because of the discussion it generated, which the judges considered an interesting showcase of the blog form. The discussion can be found here at Club Troppo.

Nicholas Gruen: Since I lived in a group house with him, I’ve stayed in touch with David Evans and discussed various issues - mostly economic - via email with him. As a result I get the odd group email from him setting out his views on greenhouse in which he argues that an ETS is a stupid idea. Last time this happened I told him that I couldn’t assess his claims without seeing them argued out in front of others who are knowledgeable in the area. He said he was sick of being demonised by abusive supporters of greenhouse action and that moreover he didn’t have the time to do this.

I told him I’d moderate the thread strictly and that not only would I not tolerate abusive comments, I’d also try to ensure that the debate was not a session where people talked past one another or engaged in a technique I’ve seen used often which is that when the opponents look close to pinning someone down, they say something like “I went over all this here, here and here”.  Problem is, when you follow the links you don’t find concise responses to the questions at issue.

Anyway, below the fold I’ve set out David’s latest article, and I’d invite anyone who thinks they can play by these rules to begin. Then, since David seems to have had time to write another article, I’ll hope he has time to engage in the debate. I for one will be interested in the outcome.

Postscript: I’ve emailed David and got his agreement to participate.

PPS: There will be times when I’m not at my computer when I may be unable to moderate. Please be disciplined in conversation whether I’m present as ring master or not. If you’re obviously not participating in the spirit of the occasion, I’ll kick you off Troppo for a while.

PPPS: A person has written pointing out that David’s initial piece as posted doesn’t adhere to the standards I set for the thread - i.e. it contains ad hominem attacks against his opponents. FWIW I agree with the point. However David didn’t write the piece for Troppo, and on my reading he appears to be participating in a way which is consistent with the rules I set - as are others. So my thanks to all so far.