...about An Inconvenient Truth
Robert J. Samuelson doesn't think we'll solve global warming until and unless we do one major thing: first look at it as an engineering problem.
The real truth is that we don't know enough to relieve global warming, and – barring major technological breakthroughs – we can't do much about it. This was obvious nine years ago; it's still obvious. Let me explain.
We're not going to stop using energy – we're not inclined to cut our own throats. Nor are we willing or able to tell the rest of the world to forego the benefits of technology which we enjoy.
The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential calamity, the only salvation is new technology....Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it. Perhaps some system could purge the atmosphere of surplus greenhouse gases?
The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral crusade when it's really an engineering problem. The inconvenient truth is that if we don't solve the engineering problem, we're helpless.
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