Global Warming

[PointyHairedJedi]

Originally Posted by Zeke

On the other hand, there are very good reasons to think that measures like the Kyoto Accord are both unrealistic and unlikely to make a difference. That makes it hard to justify the economic cost. It isn't a black-and-white issue.

The big huge problem with any sort of international agreement is that you've got to get everyone to agree to it, and everybody will want to change something. I'll state this again, categorically - the actual cost of taking effective preventative measures is far outweighed by the cost of the effects of global warming. Why it is that most people don't consider that to be sufficient justification? It's not an idealistic argument, it's a purely pragmatic one. And if it turns out that in forty or fifty years time, we've been overestimating the problem? It's still by far better to have done too much than to have not done enough.

Here's another question for everyone - when you think of global warming, what specifically does that make you think of? I'm interested to know how much of the issue people really see.