Adapting to Climate Change

Ronald Bailey writes in TCS about how to deal both with climate change and natural disasters that have always occured:

In climate-speak some mitigation strategies aimed at cutting GHG emissions by limiting energy use are called 'no regrets' proposals, that is, actions that a company or agency would take anyway that also results in GHG reductions, e.g., switching a power plant from coal to natural gas. It is past time to seriously consider 'no regrets' strategies for adapting to climate change. No country would regret having better roads, hospitals, sanitation, sea walls, houses, access to electricity, communications and so forth. All of these things would make its citizens less vulnerable to whatever weather disasters a changing climate might bring. So how to implement a no regrets climate change adaptation strategy? The best way to do it is the old-fashioned way by encouraging economic growth and free trade to alleviate poverty, illiteracy, maternal and infant mortality, and so forth. For example, people living in the developing countries that have participated in the current wave of globalization by being more open to free markets and trade have been becoming richer. World Bank economist David Dollar has pointed out, 'Between 1993 and 1998, the number of absolute poor in the globalizing developing countries declined by an estimated 120 million, while poverty increased in the rest of the developing world by 20 million.' Indeed, Dollar adds, 'China has seen the most dramatic poverty reduction in history.'

As I mentioned previously, I don't know what effect humans have on the climate, but the best way to deal with it is a robust world economy and increased scientific knowledge.