The primary politics involved with global warming is business interests using their political muscle to stymie any attempt to forestall a potential problem. The models used to predict the effects of global warming were derived from those first used to understand the climate of Mars and Venus. It is just plain willfully ignorant to arbitrarily dismiss such predictions out of hand when they work over such a broad range of conditions.

However, the Earth is far more complicated than Venus and Mars do to its oceans and other active geological cycles. Models developed for Venus/Mars are probably too simple to accurately predict climate change on Earth. Climatologists have taken those early models and refined them trying to take into account Earth's more complicated systems. These complications require many more equation constants to be determined. A limited range of data leads to constants of limited accuracy which also depend on whether the variables chosen as the primary drivers are in fact correct. This is why various models have such a range in predicted effects. It is also well known that you can fit any data to an equation with enough terms in it. Conservatives try to use the variation in predictions and potential for false mathematecal fits as a reason to dismiss global warming concerns despite the fact that almost all show global warming to some degree. Again willful ignorance. The problem is most likely real, the degree is still unknown.

Reasonable people should all be concerned and realize there is good reason to be concerned global warming will happen. Having enough data to develop accurate models requires that significant impacts on climate have already occurred. Is that what we really want? Prudence suggests we should take precautions. The downside is that any precautions will also have a potential economic consequence. In this the conservatives are right. The most prudent approach to me is to spend money on research to develop accurate models as quickly as possible and seek to reduce greenhouse gases in ways that benefit us in additional ways as well to justify the potential economic cost. Reducing our dependence on foreign oil is the prime candidate in my mind. For our national security and to prevent climate change we should be trying to replace the internal combustion engine as fast as possible.

Regards,
Mark