In 19th century England there was a group known as the Luddites who protested against technological development out of the belief that it would cost people their jobs. They have been proven wrong; technological development instead has created vast prosperity and better jobs. However there are people today who act in the same way as did the Luddites.
These people are the deniers and "skeptics" of global warming.
These are the people who want to stand in the way of progress in the energy sector in order to force continued reliance on outdated, destructive, inefficient technologies such as dirty coal and oil. Like Luddites they are backward; and like Luddites they are wrong. Progress in energy sector, like technological progress of 19th century and early 20th century, stands to create vast prosperity and much better jobs than there are in the energy sector of today. People will have all that they have now and much more, with vastly fewer destructive effects.
Many of these people claim that they speak for progress or for technology. That they do, shows the extent of their dishonesty. A person who actually is in favor of progress and technology will look toward the future not the past and create better technologies than what exists presently. A person who actually is in favor of progress and technology will support innovative and intelligent solutions that will deliver people greater utility than the technologies of today with much fewer destructive effects. A person who actually is in favor of progress and technology will embrace progress toward better technologies instead of forcing reliance on inferior and outdated technologies. A person who stands in the way of such progress is a Luddite.
The Luddites do not have a good reputation; and neither will the deniers and "skeptics" of global warming. They are wrong in every way that counts, and they are especially wrong to claim that they speak for progress or for technology even as they seek to force ongoing reliance on outdated technologies when there are many technologies that are much better. Real progress means going toward better technologies, not staying with inefficient and brainless technologies. And the stance of staying with dirty coal and oil is the stance of the Luddite.