My guess is that people should probably say what they believe, which for many EAs (including me) is that climate change work is both far less impactful and far less neglected than other priority cause areas, and that many people interested in having an impact can do far more good elsewhere.
Rather than “many EAs”, I would say “some EAs” believe that climate change work is both far less impactful and far less neglected than other priority cause areas.
I am not one of those people. I am currently in the process of shifting my career to work on climate change. Effective Altruism is a Big Tent.
“Some EAs” conveys very little information. The claim I’m making is stronger.
On the other hand, “many people [...] could do far more good elsewhere” is not the same as “all people”. Probably some EA-minded people can have their greatest impact working on climate change. Perhaps you are one of those people.
There’s a pretty important distinction between what your own best career path is and what the broader community should prioritise. I’m going to try to write more about this separately because it’s important, but: if you think that working on climate change is the most impactful thing you can do, there are lots of good and bad reasons that could be, and short of a deep personal conversation or an explicit call for advice I’m not going to argue with you. I wish you all the best in your quest for impact.
But this post is a general call to change how the community as a whole regards and prioritises climate change work, and as such needs to be evaluated on a different level. I can disagree with these arguments without having an opinion on what the best thing for you to do is.
(Not that you said I couldn’t do that. I just think it’s important for that distinction to be explicitly there.)
Rather than “many EAs”, I would say “some EAs” believe that climate change work is both far less impactful and far less neglected than other priority cause areas.
I am not one of those people. I am currently in the process of shifting my career to work on climate change. Effective Altruism is a Big Tent.
“Some EAs” conveys very little information. The claim I’m making is stronger.
On the other hand, “many people [...] could do far more good elsewhere” is not the same as “all people”. Probably some EA-minded people can have their greatest impact working on climate change. Perhaps you are one of those people.
There’s a pretty important distinction between what your own best career path is and what the broader community should prioritise. I’m going to try to write more about this separately because it’s important, but: if you think that working on climate change is the most impactful thing you can do, there are lots of good and bad reasons that could be, and short of a deep personal conversation or an explicit call for advice I’m not going to argue with you. I wish you all the best in your quest for impact.
But this post is a general call to change how the community as a whole regards and prioritises climate change work, and as such needs to be evaluated on a different level. I can disagree with these arguments without having an opinion on what the best thing for you to do is.
(Not that you said I couldn’t do that. I just think it’s important for that distinction to be explicitly there.)