You are correct to call out that I haven’t actually offered a balanced argument. Climate change is not ignore by EA. As is clear in Appendix A, there have been quite a few posts about climate change in recent years. The purpose of this post was to draw out some particular trends about how I see climate change being discussed by EA.
I think I and others here would have reacted much better if this post felt more curious/exploratory and less arguments-are-solders.
That doesn’t mean you can’t come down on a side. You can definitely come down on a side. But a good post should either make it’s clear that it’s only arguing for one side (and so only trying to be part of a whole) or it should reflect the entirety of your position, not just the points on one side. And if the entirety of your position is only points on one side, then either your argumentation had better be iron-solid or a lot of people are going to suspect your impartiality.
I think I and others here would have reacted much better if this post felt more curious/exploratory and less arguments-are-solders.
That doesn’t mean you can’t come down on a side. You can definitely come down on a side. But a good post should either make it’s clear that it’s only arguing for one side (and so only trying to be part of a whole) or it should reflect the entirety of your position, not just the points on one side. And if the entirety of your position is only points on one side, then either your argumentation had better be iron-solid or a lot of people are going to suspect your impartiality.