Global Warming: Signed, Sealed and delivered

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alric @ Aug 25 2006, 12:36 PM) [snapback]309441[/snapback]</div>

First - I agree with your first statement - the evidence seems to support that CO2 are at high levels - if not historically high levels based on what we know.

Second - increases in CO2 can lead to temperature increases.

The problem is, in roughly your own words, that in such a complex / multi-factoral system it is difficult to predict what exactly what changes in A will have on B. That is the crux of the problem. How much will rises in CO2 cause changes in temperature?

For the record, the original post was the graph from Wikipedia that showed CO2, Temperature and Dust. The person posting claimed a direct / causal relationship between rising CO2 and temp. based on the Vostok ice core. I posted challenges to that thinking.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TimBikes @ Aug 25 2006, 02:51 PM) [snapback]309450[/snapback]</div>

Someone else posted the rather easy risk assesment.

If CO2 will cause the temp to rise too much and we do nothing =
If CO2 will not cause the temp to rise too much and we do nothing =
If CO2 will cause the temp to rise too much and we do something=
If CO2 will not cause the temp to rise too much and we do something =

So the only incorrect choice here that we can control is doing nothing. You might argue the economic consequences of following something like the Kyoto protocols might be negative for the US economy. However, I would argue that 1) it would mostly be negative only to oil companies, not you or me, 2) I think losing florida might be more devastating than paying $50 more in taxes.

Also, I believe doing something will result in clean energy-based new industries and will lower our oil dependence.

Cheers!