Thirty five years ago, on this day, February 8, 1991 the “Grey Lady” was peddling the usual soothing lullabies…
Technology Is Found to Exist To Cut Global Warming Gases – The New York Times
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly xxxppm. As of 2026 it is 428ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The broader context was that “technology will fix it” is the first cry of technocrats and politicians wary of upsetting their incumbent donors. Sometimes technology does indeed fix things – vaccines are pretty fantastic, and so many other things. But not always…
The specific context was that the climate issue had finally broken through in 1988. By early 1991 the negotiations for an international treaty were beginning, and the US line would be “technology will fix it.” The New York Times, one mouthpiece for this worldview, was doing its job.
What I think we can learn from this is that we are a bright species, but not quite as bright as we think, and not bright enough to see that our brightness is causing problems that our brightness might not be able to fix.
What happened next: The Times kept peddling this credulous nonsense. People wanted to believe it, so they did. Only by the 2020s was that particular lullaby beginning to take on fingers-on-the-blackboard characteristics.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
February 8, 1956 – Roger Revelle sexes up the dossier to House Committee on Appropriations
February 8, 1973 – American ecologist explains carbon build-up to politicians