There is a valid place for government regulation of pollution, as a polluter infringes on the property of others, but environmentalists no longer have to show that something is damaging or harmful to attempt to regulate it. It's enough that some scientists are worried about the possibilies. Industries have accommodated regulations, reasonable and otherwise, involving monoxides, particulates, waste water, chemical wastes, and many other things that had proven specific harmful actions. Now they have to be punished for expelling the same gases we all exhale in quantities deemed to be too large.

Even perfect burning of fuel creates carbon dioxide, so it's not surprising that this would be the last barrier the radical environmentalists have to overcome to accomplish their goal of destroying the hated Western industrial system. Sometimes it seems like the only thing an energy system has to do to be hated by the environmental wackos is to work. If solar power cells became cheap and effective, the environmentalists would be screaming about the many toxic chemicals used to make the cells. I remember when hydroelectric power was thought to be environmentally sound, too.

Again, if you really want a tip on the agenda of someone supposedly worried about global warming, ask them about nuclear power. A reasonable environmentalist will be at least receptive about the idea.