Okay, seriously…Although I remain open to the possibility that humans are contributing to global warming, I can’t help but be very skeptical. Environmental science has become so politicized and inundated with activists that I doubt there is much real science going on anymore.
Stories like this aren’t helping to persuade me.
What’s weirdest about the Al Gore/global warming thing is that there are other, more broadly compelling reasons for some environmental protection measures, but the global warming armageddon scenario seems to have attracted most of the attention.
Yes, I agree. I think the obsession with CO2 emissions causes both attention and resources to get diverted from a lot of other legitimate environmental problems. And the global warming problem is the most difficult and expensive for us to actually do anything about. Even if we spend trillions and bankrupt our economy in order to fully implement the Kyoto protocol it will make very little difference.
If it turns out that anthropomorphic CO2 production is really the primary cause of global warming, then there is really only one possible solution that will make any difference: radical advancements in technology. And our best chance of making that happen is to keep the economy going as strong as possible by not taxing/regulating/suing the hell out of it.
Three environmentally useful projects I’d consider supporting government funding for and oversight of:
1. All-electric vehicles (and the cessation of ethanol subsidies).
2. The development of better alternatives to plastics.
3. Solar energy collection.
You?