Originally Posted by
Ker_Thwap
My answer isn't black and white, because it's not a simple question. I'm pragmatic. I do what I'm capable of doing. I try not to be ignorant of what the impact my choices have on others and myself. I'm also selfish enough to want to enjoy a certain lifestyle. I'm a realist in that I know I'm living like a king compared to a tribesman in the heart of Africa, and that probably does harm the planet. I can live with that. What's wrong with rationalization?
I'd be thrilled if some research institute spent a bunch of years developing an ever developing model of the earth, the interplay of it's thousands of natural cycles, the further interplay of the cosmological motions of the earth within the solar system, and then added in the interplay of the thousands of things that mankind does that also contributes to environment changes. I think that would be some awesome data to check out and base some decisions on. What we have now is more akin to "A study on the effect of changing temperatures in a bubble in some guy's living room" and then we have non scientists claiming that study has significance.
Do I believe in man made global warming? Sure. Do I think it's a big concern for humankind? Maybe? Maybe not. That's not apathy. It's just pragmatism. Is there a lot of point in worrying about it? For who? How do you balance the Chinese peasant thrilled to be earning a living wage working in a waste producing factory with the twenty year old guy living in his parent's basement wringing his hands because he's concerned about global warming for some indefinite reason he can't quite pin down. Do I believe that markets, manufacturing efficiency, and profits will drive innovation? Do I think that government grants to profiteering researchers will drive innovation? Nope, I'm a moderate, the answer is somewhere in the middle. So, I get to piss off both sides of the debate. Just because I'm pissing you off, it doesn't mean I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum.