The End of Magical Climate Thinking | Foreign Policy

By Ted Nordhaus, Michael Shellenberger, Foreign Policy, Posted 01/15/10

Link: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/13/the_end_of_magical_climate_t...

"The Obama administration succumbed, like many others, to a sort of magical climate thinking that promised a painless and even prosperous transition to a low-carbon future with the tools already at hand. The only official within his administration to accurately grasp the technology challenges faced, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, was sidelined at crucial moments. Here is the back story of how the Obama administration dramatically raised and then dashed America's -- and the world's -- hopes that 2009 would be a pivotal year for remaking our collective energy future." This article places blame on both government and green energy advocates for "magical thinking" about what will surely at minimum be a tough, expensive, decades-long slog.  The importance of space infrastructure advancements, especially by the private sector, to developing innovative lower-cost solar power and biospheric and climate monitoring systems will be major.  Earth and its environment are increasingly understood as one evolving macro-ecosystem traveling through space over eons.