That is the point Sparkie, Facts not esoterically oriented crap some pseudo scientists and Sick minded psychopaths can conger up to scare the hell out of everyone.
How did the Ice melt after the Ice ages?
Was the Methane from prehistoric existence and Neanderthals so potent it stuffed the atmosphere? And did it melt the Ice?
Volcanic eruptions spew out more of the so called Green house gasses than man ever could, why not cap the volcanoes instead and save the Planet.
I forgot, the Misery industry, and then they would need to get a real life and have to work like the rest of us. That would be a sight worth remembering and not forth coming though. While a nest of Money lay dormant for them to steal, they will remain where they are, producing the same lie, and creating the same fear and emotional based propaganda.
Witch doctors are a better name, and a category of a person of such tallentless enthusiasm. Ready to Loot you of your existence.

Pk writes; “The government could put us back in the lead in investigating alternative energy sources, which is where the smart money is going. Even the environmental neanderthals in the Bush administration recognise that.”

This is pretty amazing when you think about Bush’s big oil connections. Mind you, he says very clearly that the oil companies are not to blame.

Perhaps the biggest problem with our inability to deal with climate change is the sheer magnitude and non-immediacy of the problem. No one country wants to make serious meaningful cuts in its usage of fossil fuels because of the tragedy of the commons: if they tighten their belts in isolation, they will simply be put at a considerable disadvantage compared to the rest. Even if lots of countries do it while the big ones don’t, they will feel the relative pinch.

Ok, so that much is obvious. So then, have we really got any hope if China and the US don’t put their heads together and come up with a meaningful initially bilateral reduction plan? If this was to happen then, the rest of the developed world would almost certainly follow.

Now that G. W. Shrub has actually called on his country to wean itself off imported fossil fuels, in a very prominent and unambiguous manner, we might just actually be on the very first rung of this very tall ladder. Perhaps the next big rung on the ladder might be climbed if he was to reach out to China and initiate this bilateral arrangement, in a serious manner.

(continued)

Kyoto is not even on this ladder, it is entirely a distraction. By getting a bunch of countries to agree to ridiculously small cuts or even increases in some cases, it is simply making us feel good about some form of action while actually leading to no significant action. It is just promulgating more of the same absurd overconsumption! You might argue that it is a good first step, but the cold hard truth is that it’s not going to progress into something useful unless the really big players do something amazing.

But wait…peak oil will save us! Prices are rising and will continue to rise to the point where we are forced to consider alternatives and a much-reduced rate of consumption, in the very near future. Peak oil increases the immediacy beautifully. It’s here, now! None of this, ‘in another 10 or 20 years crap’, which is a major issue holding us back with CO2 emissions. The immediacy is..well, immediate. It’s just what we need to really get our climate-change arses into gear.

We should be concentrating 100% on peak oil, not climate change. Essentially the same approach is required for both anyway. It won’t affect coal or gas directly, but it will indirectly by causing us to really focus on alternate sources and better efficiencies.

Peak oil will have a vastly bigger and more imminent threat to us here in Oz, and around the world. THIS is our overwhelming concern.

Just for the record Mr Gruen, what was your position on Y2K? Were you busy insulting the doubters? Were you right out front, running with the pack?

And for all the money wasted on that bogus crisis, did anyone actually lose their job for sending most of the planet up such an obvious blind alley?

It seems the argument is really about, it was not me and it will cost.
The first has been alluded to, as to cost well consult rocky mountain institute web site a scientific if practically oriented research institute, CEO Amory LOvins a scientist who has proclaimed energy efficiency since the1970's.
Lowandbehold many have taken his ideas they work BP uses less energyat a profit, Lovins claims putting solar water heaters alone could solve much of our greehouse gas debt at profit to householder, but visit the web site www.rmi.org and check out the profitable options or look at Victoria. Howard escapes the odium of being out of step by his actions andthe coal lobby profits, when we could all profit and feel godly!

And how dare you have the gall to include a quote from Hansen, the NASA scientist who kicked off this global warming farce, in the very week when he admitted that he knowingly exaggerated (ie, lied) to the Senate in 1988.

See Gagging Who? James Hansen! Impossible! at www.jennifermarohasy.com/blog