[Azred]

Originally Posted by Timber Loftis Your word play is unpersuasive. As I noted before, the vast majority of stuff that needs to be done to curb potential man-made climate change are things we ought be doing anyway. Seeking energy efficiency, getting away from fossil fuels, etc. -- all are 40-50 years overdue. While you are urging decision makers to ignore any possible CC, the auto and oil industries are busy getting incentives and tax breaks to keep making the same inefficient cars and fuels they've been selling us for 100 years. Now, they're all too happy with the status quo because it's profitable, but why are you so content?

I know you haven't missed me saying similar things--we should be moving towards energy independence and seeking better alternatives--but we shouldn't be doing it because of pressure from the government. Agencies like the EPA don't exist to make the air clean; rather, they exist to enforce regulations that say "if your emissions exceed x then you will pay y" and then collect those fees--money is the goal while the clean air is merely incidental.

On a personal level I am content because we already do the things that make us more energy independent and use energy more efficiently. We keep the cruiser and the truck well-maintained, I have traded out light bulbs for LED--much more efficient and considerably less polluting than CF--and so on. It is a shame we don't own a house yet because I plan on outfitting as many solar panels as I can on the roof and, if we are in an area serviced by natural gas, using a tankless water heater (which heats water only as you need it).

The point I have been trying to make all along is that we shouldn't let ourselves or our politicians be misled by incomplete science. Climatologists are the only group of scientists who claim that their conclusions are always accurate and that they have all the answers.