Oy. I've done a fair amount of research on the subject and came to one conclusion:
No one fucking knows.
We do know that the Earth's temperature is rising. What we don't know is how much of that is from human pollution and there are respected scientists from both sides that disagree completely in this regard. It does put some doubt in your mind about the validity of the alarmists when you understand exactly how much damage a large volcano eruption does in comparison to man's own pollution. On the other hand, there is some evidence that man has contributed in some way to the elevated temperature (still not very high comparitively speaking, though). After all, the Earth spent most of the past 400 years in a mini ice age. Data is far from conclusive when it comes to this matter.
In any case, I think we can all agree on one thing: dedicating money to varied and balanced research in this subject will better mankind in the future, even if the only result is a better understanding of the Earth's natural temperature cycles.
My problem is when research money goes to the alarmist or denial set. They're just going to use the money to fuel their own beliefs.
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