Does the book argue then that climate change is not a problem?
No, I believe that we are having a dangerous effect on the climate, but I also believe that we can’t predict its future. Most environmentalists gloss over the problems in the models. This is dangerous for two reasons. The first is that bad science will never convince skeptics. The second, more subtle reason is that the emphasis on mechanistic models and technology perpetuates the idea that we can predict and control the planet, which is what got us into trouble in the first place. So what we need is a different, more humble approach. As I discuss in the book, many environmentalists embrace Gaia theory (named for the Greek Earth goddess) which states that the Earth can be viewed as a living organism. If the Earth is alive, that makes it deserving of our protection, but at the same time rather unpredictable. So there’s no contradiction in believing that climate change is likely to be a problem, but is beyond our computational abilities. Interestingly, according to legend, the prophecies
