Too late, she cried and waved her wooden leg...
The writing was on the wall back in the 1970's, but no one took any notice. At the conference in Rio the world's most eminent scientists posted an ultimatum. That was ignored. Kyoto was a last ditch attampt... ignored, of course. Time has run out, gentlemen. The sole purpose of this latest flurry of pseudo activity, is to stop world panic. That will arrive in a few years as large tides sweep away the eastern seaboards of the USA and Australia, and sink about half the world's populations. But by then the rich will have secured their fortresses out of harm's way and it wil be safe to let the rest of us starve, drown, murder each other and die like rats in a sinking ship... which is an apt analogy. Humans have been likened many times over the last fity years to a plague of rodents, and human DNA is virtually indistinguishable from rats...
Rave on, or fiddle while the biosphere re-arranges itself, it makes not a jot of difference.

Some of the posts above seem optimistic that carbon taxes will not come, and will not work. But don’t be so sure! The Stern report comes with an economic view, not a”greenie” view. Investors are already becoming concerned about carbon emissions. The Council of Australian Governments’ draft regulation impact statement recommends laws that would force Australian companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s Business section of The Afge quotes Shane Oliver AMP Capital Investor’ chief saying:
“As climate change becomes more and more of a reality, investors will come to expect that some form of restriction on carbon emissions is only a matter of time”
Good old capitalist economics will direct Australia into a post-Bush, post-Howard, 21st Century participation in global carbon trading, and into the international legal framework led by the Kyoto Protocol.
Christina Macpherson www.antinuclearaustralia.com

Huh, tides wiping out 1/2 the worlds population? Well that will at least make the anti-growth, anti-immigrationists happy. They may well increase their emissions to try to hurry it up!

There are arguements above that say that why should we bother with trying to reduce our emissions, when China is just going to plow ahead anyway? Well, if we didnt reduce our emissions, there would be that much more being pumped into the atmosphere. While I am not a doom and gloom greenie (heck I'm from a farming background - we lynch greenies), there is no harm in being cautious. I am not convinced that carbon taxes are the way to go. Regulation based on restrictions and penalties for breaching these would have to be more effective in controlling big business. Corporations are in the position to pass on the costs to consumers. Think about carbon-producers that are not in that position. Yep, farmers take the brunt again. Fuel is needed for production and cattle and sheep are shocking methane producers. Yet farmers are fairly unique in being unable to pass on the effects of any cost increases that they face. But if regulatory restrictions were put on farmers as well as other businesses, then there would be more of a level playing field.

Thanks ybgirp at least theres one more out there, I was starting to think my mind was in the wrong place ie. down round my bum, but it seems there are others who worry about the same thing so maybe it is up there in the grey matter after all.
30 years ago i moved to a place 1200M above sea level (and I'm still not rich) west of Sydney for this very reason and your right the place is filling up with the vacant rich trying to get out of the "rat race" and move to a more civilized area.
luckily no politicians as yet.
Have been trying for years to get the politicians interested in the wastage of water by Delta Electricity (40Ml/day from sydneys drinking water) that goes up the cooling tower, let alone the CO2, but they are not interested it's been a bit painful sitting here listening to their lies but now they are going to be reminded constantly of their denial of the facts and all the information they have been ignoring over the years.

A little known fact is that Australia with Saudi arabia are the biggest
exporters of carbon fuel in the whole world ,
Australia is so dominant in the coal market , it could probably create
a world wide recession by blocking coal exports ,
the decrease of CO2 emmission by Australia is small stuff , putting an
export quota plus a carbon taxe on coal exports would directly decrease
the world CO2 .

Of course trade will be affected, whether global warming is a natural phenomena or man made, matters little surely.
If a natural phenomena what the expected cost to industry? same as if a man made one I should think.
We have to believe the science, we have no trouble in other matters even if god botheres' want the truth to be otherwise.
I want to see Australia the world for that matter,get rid of coal its physical pollution is horrendous, whether co2, dust or an eyesore.
Lets again lead the world in the science of renewable energy, we have little to lose, replacing one industry for another, its happened before and will happen again and again, I hope. Its called progress.
As for Australia being disadvantaged against China one more disadvantage is neither here nor there. Oneday they must follow,
Tax the polluters I say, I pay to go to the tip, why should the coal industry not pay to dump waste, as all industry should.
Our democracy once led the world and the disadvantage of freedom took no account of disadvantage in trade. JH is taking us to the state of lowest common denominator, democratic and moral.
Let us again be leaders not followers.
fluff