Quote Originally Posted by chadknowslaw View Post
I have little faith that the human population will be able to reduce total global emissions. I believe we need to start planning on how to deal with a warmer, more volatile earth. That is not all bad, because on a warmer earth those millions of acres of farmland in Manitoba and the Dakotas will become more productive at the same time that farmland in Oklahoma decreases in productivity. Northern cities will become more livable. Phoenix -- well, it is fucking hot here already so we wont even notice. As long as we can adapt to the changes, global warming in itself will not be the cause of Armageddon.
You really need to see the movie. The problem is, that as weather shifts, some areas get completely flooded and unusable, and other areas become so dry they are completely unusable. Likewise, because the polar ice caps are melting, the oceans could raise enough to make significant populated parts of the US, including parts of Manhattan, Florida, Mississippi, and other places be permanently flooded by the ocean.

And most researchers *do* believe that the problem can be solved *if* a concerted effort is made worldwide to do so. A comparision is made to the ozone problem in the 80s. The ozone hole was getting bigger consistently, and people insisted that nothing could be done to solve the probem... but the banning of CFCs and certain other actions actually did solve the problem, and the ozone hole repaired itself. Many (but not all) scientists think that the same can happen with CO2 levels if swift enough action is taken.