Much has been said and written about the Global Warming or Climate Change debate. (First, I must make a comment about two names because it irritates me. At least the name Global Warming had specificity going for it. At least with the name Global Warming we knew what we were discussing. With the name Climate Change it seems it could be anything. Getting hotter, colder, wetter, drier, windier, I mean come on! Its ambiguity annoys me. Of course the climate is changing, the earth is dynamic, and so what are we really talking about?) If you are one of those who think there is a consensus or the debate is over, you should look around more, the debate is far from over.
My point here is not to rehash the arguments made on either side of this debate but rather to remind those considering the issue that there are five major assertions that must be found true in order for the Al Gore position to win the day. Given that these points are still hotly debated in the scientific community, for us common folk to reach a conclusion on them is an exercise of significant faith. These five major assertions are:
- The climate is changing in an abnormal way.
- This change will bring about significant problems.
- This change will occur in a timeframe that will affect humanity.
- The cause of the change is manmade.
- We have the ability to avoid the problem.
While these questions are being debated among leading scientists it is a big leap of faith for the rest of us, and for politicians, to make and support major policy changes, such as Cap and Trade legislation. Cap and Trade legislation would be a significant impact to our economy by imposing limits on businesses regarding how much energy they could consume before being penalized with taxes. Not a job creator. Being hasty to determine and implement solutions of this magnitude before the problem is clearly understood is an excellent way to create a solution to the wrong problem or a problem that doesn’t actually exist. We should demand that policy makers do not act before they and we know what they are acting upon, and that the action will make things better. This is just good common sense.
