poses no serious health hazards.) As
the evidence for human-caused climate
change has increased, the number
of Americans who believe it has
decreased. The latest Pew Research
Center (2010) poll in October, 2009,
shows that only 57% of Americans
believe global warming is real, down
from 71% in April, 2008.
There are currently no technological
quick fixes for global warming.
Our only hope is to change our
behavior in ways that significantly
slow the rate of global warming,
thereby giving the engineers time to
devise, develop, and deploy technological
solutions where possible. Unless
large numbers of people take
appropriate steps, including supporting
governmental regulations aimed
at reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
our only options will be adaptation
and suffering. And the longer we
delay, the more unpleasant the adaptations
and the greater the suffering
will be.
Sooner or later, we will all deal
with global warming. The only question
is how much we will mitigate,
adapt, and suffer.