I don't think the issue is whether it's real, but whether man is causing it, and therefore whether we can stop it. I'm skeptical of the first question, and literally laugh at the second.
First, who determines what is "normal" temperature? Maybe we've been living in an abnormally cool era for recorded human history, and a slight warmup is underway. The planet changes with or without us. Example: earth has seen at least 5 major ice ages (at least according to Wikipedia, the source of all reliable knowledge), going back 2.4 BILLION years. After each, presumably, earth warmed up- a LOT. Why? It sure as shinola wasn't my Tahoe or coal burning doing it. Maybe atmospheric changes, maybe solar cycles...even the "experts" have no idea.
Add to that the fact that reliable thermometry has only been around for about 150 years, and thermometry to within a fraction of one degree has been around for far less time than that. How the heck do we know with that degree of specificity what the temps were hundreds, thousands, or billions of years ago? Ice samples? Rock formations? Come on....
As far as stopping it (assuming we're causing it), America is a grain of sand on the beach of worldwide coal fired energy production. China alone TOWERS over us:
Ecopolitology. Also, for every American Prius owner, there are probably 5000 newly middle class Chinese and Indian car purchasers. And those cars aint running on batteries. Who can blame them? They just want what we have.
Side note: Prius owners do know that electricity doesn't grow in jelly bean fields, right? Gotta burn coal to charge those batteries, which themselves come from an environmentally dubious nickel plant in Sudbury, Ontario, and then go via freighter to a European refinery, then China, Japan and the U.S. Making the Prius more environmentally harmful to produce and own over its average lifespan than a Hummer H2. (If you bought a Prius strictly for mileage reasons, then my point is moot...although it takes the average driver 60 months to recoup the upfront expense).
I say we look at the bright side...if it warms up enough we'll have a year round growing season for trees and we'll all be rich.
Anyway, the video was awesome. The scale was impossible to appreciate, even while seeing it before my eyes. Which underscores my point that humans tend to have an inflated opinion of themselves and their abilities. We think we can stop THAT?
For the record, I have no beef with Prius owners. (If you own 2, do you have Prii?)
