quote:According to the stats I just posted, I am one of about 80% of the rest of the nation that agrees with the overwhelming consensus that the globe is getting warmer. I think that moots your point that I am on the side of liberal tree huggers and environmentalist wackos (and I most certainly do NOT side with their stance on this issue).
Again, let's be sure we're debating the same topic. There is general consensus that the mean global temperature is increasing about .4 degrees per decade. If this continues for a century it will result in a 4 degree increase in the temperature. It is not certain that it will continue to increase for a century.
What continues to be in contention is the part human civilization plays in this little drama. We all recall the ozone layer thing that happened years ago; the ozone layer was being depleted due to fluorocarbons, freon, spray can propellant, and other such nasties. We removed them from our environment and-what?-no more ozone problems? The ozone layer protects from solar radiation, but ozone is created by the interaction of solar radiation and atmospheric oxygen. It is likely the problem would have been self-correcting, but we managed without a significant economic dislocation. Well, some were affected very significantly.
Now we come to the role of carbon dioxide. We recognize there MAY be a global increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. We assume the cause is human civilization, but it could be a variety of other things...vulcanism, deforestation, ocean cooling for a few. We're not even completely convinced if the CO2 levels are causing GW, or are caused by GW. It's still debated.
Okay, assume it is caused by human civilization. How is a significant economic dislocation to the United States going to significantly impact the amount of CO2 going into the GLOBAL atmosphere, when countries of much weaker development and no environmental regulation continue to pour gigatons of crap into the air?
Nuclear power? I'm all for it. I also believe petroleum is too valuable a chemical than to have to burn it for fuel, so electric cars (reserving gasoline for motorcycles and boats!) should be a high national priority. Green spaces should abound in our country. Clean up waterways, and stop dumping crap in the ocean, killing of algae which happens to account for the generation of most of the oxygen on this planet.
Keep the debate straight. Perhaps global warming is real and is caused by other than human agency. If it continues, we'll need technology to save us. Perhaps we should consider the earth is too fragile a basket to keep humanity in. This whole MMGW thing threatens to pull the underpinnings from the only thing that can save us from whatever disaster may come our way. Let's face it, the US has the ONLY economy that can provide what this planet needs in the coming centuries. We should think long and hard before we kill it.