Belly. I think you were replying to a post I didn't make.
This is my first on this thread.

I have read a couple of articles where it is suggested that it might be
both cheaper and more effective to not try and reduce CO2 but to just
mitigate the effects as they happen.

We will not have then spent money on things that will not happen and so
have more to directly attack those things that do happen.
The Barrier Reef is an example of this. It is recovering quite well and
it could be expected to expand further south. Apparently it copes with
higher temperatures and lower PH quite well.
There is no way we can just shut down the power stations.
Nuclear will take too long and before CO2 sequestration is ready we
will be on the slope of coal depletion or the price will be too high
to make it possible.
Coal is going to get more expensive and harder to extract with peak
coal occurring around 2025 at present prices plus a bit.
Richard Heinberg has written on this problem and I am expecting to be
able to read his book Blackout soon.
Those that bleet renewables have no idea what they are talking about
and even if we could get the government to spend a fortune on a super
grid to cover the whole country, so as to take advantage of the
geographical spread it could not provide base load.
Geothermal is a hope but it is a fair way off yet, if ever.

It may all change when the sunspot count rises again, it is in single
digits at present and I have never seen it so low.
The upper atmosphere, the ionosphere, is really in a bad way.
It would be surprising if it had no effect on climate.
HF radio conditions are just non existent at present.

Bazz: "The Barrier Reef ... copes with higher temperatures and lower PH quite well."

Hmmm. I understood it was the reverse. If you are right that would be good news indeed. Got a link?

"CAIRNS residents will have to cope with more intense and frequent extreme weather events because of the failure of world leaders to do more about climate change.

The warning comes from James Cook University disaster expert Prof Jon Nott.

The professor of physical geography said extreme weather such as floods, cyclones, erosion, landslides, king tides and droughts would hit the Far North harder than the southern states.

"We will see an increase in the magnitude and size of these extreme events," Prof Nott said.

"These natural hazards are going to affect us most, whereas southern Australia will see an increase in average temperature and decrease in rainfall, which will exacerbate drought and bushfires."

Australia should also prepare to receive refugees from low-lying Pacific island nations, which will face sea level rises, he said."

The above is from Cairns Post 21/12/09. Does this make the impact personal enough to get everyone's attention? Do you really want to risk it?

Besides....what would be so wrong with having a nice, clean, green peaceful world? Even if you don't believe in GW, and are against the ETS (which by the way, in Rudd's version, I am) why not still take the opportunity to be the best in the world using our abundant solar, wind and geothermal blessings and have everyone benefit?

Rstuart:
Bazz: "The Barrier Reef ... copes with higher temperatures and lower
PH quite well."

I knew as soon as I wrote that you would ask me for a link.
I read it only two or three days ago. It was written by somebody that
has been doing work on the Great Barrier Reef. I don't think it was
somebody at Townsville Uni, but he was an academic.
It being so recent a Googling might find it. He had an odd name.

I will see if I can find it.

Rstuart;
Here it is;
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2009-04-23-voa9-68784577.html

The Googly Barrier Reef recovery gives a number of results.
This is not the one I read but some of the wording is similar.
It gives the name of the scientist and the Barrier Reef Authority.
So you should be able to get a lot more info.

This whole AGW hoax need to come to a head, these shysters are robbing us blind and there's too many useful-idiots helping them!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6847227/Questions-over-business-deals-of-UN-climate-change-guru-Dr-Rajendra-Pachauri.html