I think Boudicca missed one hypothetical outcome

Global warming is CORRECT
That everyone knows about it is CORRECT
The world changes its behavior

The earth still heats up and we all drown or go extinct (as Wouter indicates) because the climate changes faster than the human race's ability to adapt.

We are pumping more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere now than in 1800, yet the climate has been warming steadily since then. Does this mean the greenhouse gases they put in the air in 1900 was somehow able to affect the climate more effectively then? (ie., was their CO2 somehow "badder" than ours?).

Or, is the climate changing faster now than in the late 1800s.

Has the earth's temperature increased at the same rate (minus a lag time) as the greenhouse emissions? I know that human greenhouse gas production increased almost geometrically for the last 100 yrs, so did the climate change match (Even granting a lag time) this increase?

If not, would that leave the possibility open that there are other factors beside humans at work? And that these factors are not under our control?


I do believe in maximizing efficiency (in sailing, driving, etc.) to reduce energy input, regardless of my ability to control the climate. Waste is, well, wasteful. But at least in USA we have the freedom to be wasteful if we so choose.