Comments

@ RisingPhoenix There's no question we could do more to clean up the environment, but it looks like it's a question of priorities. We'd rather spend money on wars, bailouts, etc. than living cleaner. I do look forward to a day when my home generates its own electricity (and pouring dollars into the Middle East is a distant memory). And I'm not exactly sure what you had in mind for a natural disaster, but would Katrina qualify? I haven't heard anything for awhile about environmental damage from that storm (wow, it's been 4 years now!). Did we get that all cleaned up? Hmmm.........

Gajumaru, so you people are saying it's much better to completely destroy the world's economy by chucking out use of all fossil fuels on the CHANCE that MAYBE there is a problem? You would be causing the suffering of billions of people on a what-if-maybe. From what I've heard from the doom-and-gloomers, we are on a path of no return already. If your side is right, it doesn't matter. If my side is right, you are putting humanity back decades with suffering on a planetary scale for no good reason. If the discussion is about promoting clean energy through tax incentives, marketplace driven solutions, financing research, etc., then I'm on board. If we are talking carbon tax credits, mandatory industrial emission reductions, etc., then I'm out.

podboq, please don't think of yourself as "trapped" with the rest of us. Consider this an exercise in intellect. If you think of this rebuttal as "flaming", then I apologize. 1. The view of earth from space. Should we have not built cities, airports, dams, etc.? If other creatures (ants, beavers, etc.) could build large structures like we do to suit their needs, I bet they would. And if you are upset with nighttime lights, I can only suggest that if we used no fossil fuels whatsoever and used only "clean energy", you'd still see those lights at night. 2. By the way, aren't we part of nature also? We may be a ton of different things, but "unnatural" is not one of them. 3. Your question about the mono-culture of plants and animals is interesting, because it seems that as we look back in history, the number, variety, and types of species on this planet has ALWAYS been changing, even before "the rest of us" showed up. Like a QB on a football team who gets too much credit or blame, you are giving us too much blame. 4.I think the number of people who believe we can do NO wrong is very small. What most of us want is a reasonable approach to a clean environment. That includes not falsifying data to tell us to "clean up or die", not placing excessive prices on fuels, and not labeling the gas that I exhale as a "pollutant". We need to be good stewards of the planet, but let's not panic. (Or call each other names while were at it.....)

MechEng007, the answer to your last question is simple: Many of us don't believe it. Your facts are incomplete, and you are proposing spending a gazillion dollars on something that is inconclusive AT BEST. No thanks. We do need to be better stewards of this planet, no question. But you haven't convinced us, WITH OVERWHELMING FACTS, that the sky is falling (or heating, in this case). And if you reply that there is no time and we must start draconian measures immediately, you'll lose the argument and never get our help.

Maybe we could get a copy of the book to Plankton, who could use it to beat Mr. Krabs and finally steal the secret Krabby Patty formula. Can you tell that I have two young boys? Ohhhhhhh, who lives in a pineapple under the sea.....