Would you accept some economic burdens in order to help prevent global warming?

Sunday 20th April, 07:09 AM JST

Latest 15 of 24 Total Comments Show All

nisegaijin at 12:42 PM JST - 21st April

why would i sacrifice something for hoax describing a natural phenomenon?
sabiwabi at 01:39 PM JST - 21st April

Global warming is a crock. We should face the real issues instead... pollution, corrupt monetary systems, the growth of radical zionism.

Instead, we pump up this politically correct non-issue because it feels sooo good and is so non-offensive.
Blue_Tiger at 02:07 PM JST - 21st April

Man made global warming isn't....

If there has been any kind of global warming, it should be noted that in 2005, sloar flares were so bad, sattelite relays were KO'ed. If there is global warming, lets blame the sun instead of anything people could do. Volcanoes produce more climate-changing chemicals and more pollution than man could in 1000 years...
GeorgeRouault at 07:10 PM JST - 21st April

Global warming is hoax.
usaexpat at 11:25 PM JST - 21st April

How can you vote yes to such a vague statement? What are some economic burdens? As usual I'm sure those burdens will fall to the middle class and somehow the rich (read politicians including Mr. Gore)will be reaping the reward of said burdens. I think we've had enough of a squeeze with cost of living far outpacing earnings growth. Global warming is just another scam to squeeze the average citizen.
mechadamuramu at 01:20 AM JST - 22nd April

Brainiac you have a good point. Being vague about the sacrifices makes it seem too easy to give up. I'm sure no one would want to give up any sacrifices you mention, except maybe change to CF light bulbs or no shopping bags. What would be a better question is would businesses be able to accept higher corporate costs for these resources. When I go to sleep I turn out the lights, but I see all to many companies watering the streets with automatic timers, keeping lights on all nights, or even worse not having any of the computers go into some kind of "sleep mode" after a period of not being used. How much paper is used around the office and how much gets recycled?

Why do a lot of you think global warming isn't happening? What scientific evidence supports that all variables of the earth remain static? If global warming isn't happening now then its naive to think that it will never happen, especially with the rise of China and India as global powers and an increasing demand for consumer and oil goods around the developing world. It doesn't matter if man is causing change or if its a "natural" climate shift, the source is irrelevant.

We as humans can only prove the world works for us in this kind of environment that we live in today. If climate shifts in any direction we would have a completely new planet to deal with and the costs to humanity would be enormous. Many people could die if they are uninformed or too poor to prepare for an uncertain future and even if you have the money the costs to ready ourselves could be enormous. If weather patterns change even just slightly then ideal farming locations could shift in such a way that we no longer have enough farm land in the right places to be able to grow enough food to eat. We can only prove the world works in one way, and that's the way it is right now, so if any force, whether man or nature, tries to change the way that the planet is set up then we should use the power of the human mind to reverse these changes to keep the planet in as static an environment as possible.
APismoClam at 01:48 AM JST - 22nd April

The same exact scientists who are now proclaiming gloom and doom because of "man-made" global warming are in large part the same people who ten or so years ago were warning us of the next ice-age if we didn't do something soon!

Last year's winter was one of the coolest on record. According to several scientists, if our atmosphere is indeed warming slightly, that could lead to enormous increases in the available land mass areas hospitable to farming and agriculture.

I'm all for conservation and alternate forms of energy, especially wind and solar-hydrogen to ween us off the teat of opec and their ilk, but the "science" behind climate change is way too tainted by people with nefarious political agendas and under-the-table business tie-ins like "221,000 kilowatt-hour burning" Owl Gore has with his climate change consulting business. Carbon-credits....yeah right. I $mell a racket.
Shark_09 at 07:46 AM JST - 22nd April

"Global warming is a crock. We should face the real issues instead... the end of cheap oil, the emergence of China as a superpower, the growth of radical islam."

Regardless, your first two issues both tie in with the fact that our demand for energy is getting so high while our ability to produce that energy is diminishing in many countries. We need to reduce energy consumption regardless and get more renewable sources of energy - and that's because of long term economic concerns. Global warming is also a concern, but our emissions can be lowered as a result of the increasing energy crisis. Prices will continue to rise so long as demand increases and we don't offer up solutions to meet that demand, or change societal attitudes to decrease the demand.

I'm not as concerned about an overall warming trend as I am about the fact that our CO2 levels are higher than they've been in the past 400 000 000 years, and the scope of all the effects that could have on our environment - not just from the warming perspective.
Altria at 03:17 PM JST - 22nd April

Growing corn for biofuels = less food crops grown = thrid world people starve to death = reduced carbon emissions

That seems to be the way things are going
johnalex40 at 02:04 AM JST - 23rd April

We are already burdening with all of the crap of how the enviroment is, was and is going to be. People, like myself, are very much aware of the effects we MAY give to this world. But allot of the little people, like me are being bambarded with idealogues who think they are changing the world. Go after the BIG COMPANIES and let them pay for ALL of the pollution that they poisoned us with. The little people must not PAY NOTHING.
capone at 05:27 PM JST - 24th April

no, but i want other people to accept them for my benefit
redacted at 07:13 PM JST - 24th April

I'll believe global warming and rising oceans and polar bear displacement or whatever are for real when waterfront real estate is affordable even to schmucks like me.
Shark_09 at 04:11 AM JST - 29th April

Won't happen, because the same unregulated economic trends that increase profits are also increasing the socioeconomic divide between the rich and poor, essentially creating the classic class divide that the free market was supposed to destroy in wake of autocracy.
Shark_09 at 04:12 AM JST - 29th April

Btw, biofuels are the worst possible solution, because as was just said they reduce crops for food. Also, the net energy gain with modern farming methods is negligent when you factor in the fuel that is used for tractors/combines, making ammonia fertilizers, etc.
WhiteHawk at 05:40 AM JST - 29th April

I figured that the Kyoto Protocols made it pretty obvious that the entire reason for the Global Warming movement was global wealth redistribution, biased against Western countries. That, and the main players behind the movement are political activists rather than scientists.