Cool Logic for a Heated Debate: Responses to Global Warming Nay-Sayers

Strange, isn't it, how something as intensely studied and widely accepted by scientists around the world as global warming can still evoke such an emotional, vitriolic response from some people?

It's a liberal plot, some bray. It's media-induced hysteria. It's fostered by academic elites with an agenda.

OK, guys and gals, calm down now. Take a deep breath, lay a cool washcloth on your forehead and -- if necessary -- pour yourself an Irish car bomb to help calm those jangling nerves. Now, let's take a look at what's what:

First, to those who stomp and scream that this is a natural warming cycle (it's not), lengthy years of climate study show that, when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere goes up, global temperatures do too. Given that, wouldn't it make sense to not try and make things worse by spewing ever more carbon dioxide into the air with our cars, factories and other polluting technology?

Second, even assuming we have centuries of fossil fuels left (we don't), doesn't it seem smart to reduce our dependence on a resource that comes in large part from some really bleeped-up regions of the world, a resource with prices that fluctuate more wildly than Rex Grossman's passing abilities on any given Sunday?

Third, arguing whether global warming is man-made or not (it is) is ultimately fruitless. If we can enlist some man-made know-how to improve a bad situation -- which includes, right now, melting Arctic ice and glaciers, drowning tropical shorelines, worsening droughts and heat waves and more chaotic weather in general -- why wouldn't we want to do so?

Fourth, blaming global warming on cows (flatulence, decaying manure and tree-clearing to create pastures) is like blaming the matches instead of the arsonist. Yes, 18 percent of greenhouse gases originates with livestock, but these aren't wild herds of cattle roaming across the Kansas plains like so many wildebeest -- they're beef and dairy cows whose sole raison d'etre is to feed you-know-who. We're the ones raising the cows for T-bones, hamburgers, aged sharp cheddar and strawberry milkshakes. We eat, therefore we heat.

Finally, for those who just yell "Uncle" and say, "Well, whatever's causing the goofy weather, there's nothing we can do about it, so let's just get used to it," I say, OK. But only if you're willing to trade places with some poor Inuit or Pacific Islander who's already hurting and wants us to start doing something serious to address global warming. My guess is, they'll be singing a different tune tout suite after watching their Alaskan bungalow sink sideways into five feet of melting Arctic permafrost or waking up one morning to find sea cucumbers creeping through their Polynesian taro field.

The time to stop yapping and start acting is now.