[zjrog]

I do not doubt that things are changing. But I have serious doubts that we as a species have done it all. I learned in Earth Sciences almost 30 years ago (when we were concerned with the coming ice ages), that the Earth's climate is always changing. There haven't always been glaciers, so using melting glaciers as a measure of the climate seems a bit dishonest to me.

I believe that it is MAN'S arrogance, to believe we have done so much harm, and there are plenty of people willing to prey on people's FEARS that they have done so much harm. As for Anthropomorphic Climate Change, my question is who is responsible for setting the thermostat? We have MANY variables that need to be factored in, say, the lack of solar activity?

NOT to take lightly our role in the environment at all. No doubt, we (as a species) HAVE done bad things to this planet. I am extremely tired of being accused of all the worlds troubles, when plenty of other countries have far more work to do than we do. MOST Asian countries have absolutely NO pollution controls and aren't doing their part. Japan being a striking example in contrast. We as a a Nation, have made GREAT strides to cleanup our environment over the last 35 years. I believe the Native American in the ads of the 70s would have less to be tearful over today.

And not to say I'm not trying to do my part either. My thermostat is set a little warmer in summer than I have in the past. This summer here in Utah has been VERY mild so far and I only just turned on my AC unit 10 days ago (the last two years I've had it on as early as the end of April). I'm using CFL bulbs in a lot of fixtures (some I need a consistent color and brightness so I still have some regular bulbs), as much for my own energy cost savings as anything else. I installed a couple more ceiling fans. I use a toaster oven more often than the fullsize oven. I water my yard only enough to maintain a bit of color as opposed to soaking my yard. With my offroading activities, I participate in trail cleanups and repairs, and am very concerned with land use issues, which includes trail etiquett and peer pressure education.

I also really dislike being lumped in with the "closed minded", "half minded" just because I disagree with a lot of the unsettled science. Science never has been about consensus. Consensus was when the middle ages church accused men of science of heresy when church teachings were threatened with real evidence. I'm very concerned with WHO is profiting/benefiting from all this fear mongering.

We DO need to do more. We DO need to get other countries involved a lot more. We DO need to stop making this such a divisive issue, have a more civil discourse, which in this day and age is becoming very difficult to reign in emotions. And we really need to have a much better understanding of other forces and dynamics at play. I do not doubt that things are changing. In fact, I truly believe the climate will always change no matter what we pitiful human beings do. This planet will spit us off long before we ever have a chance to "kill" it. Our tenure here as a species is minute compared to the time the planet has been warming and freezing on its own, without us around.