[richlevy]

Originally Posted by GunMaster357

We're not the cause of global warming.
Most probably it is a phase our planet goes through.
We're just accelerating it.

And if that acceleration is significant enough in itself, it makes sense to slow it down. I know that I will die eventually, but I would certainly like to put it off.

A lot of the fish we now eat is now poisoned. Logically, one would think that if most of the earth's surface is water, that it would take a lot to pollute the ocean.

But in reality, that amount is still finite. Even at 332.5 million cubic miles, we're talking about an 860 mile globe of water if it was removed from the surface. It doesn't take as much pollution to affect something like that over decades, especially as technology advances and with it increasing pollution and more exotic toxins.

So the earth is big, but the surface of the earth really isn't compared to the mass of the planet. And affecting what is essentially a skin extending up a few miles into the air and a few miles into the ocean is not that difficult. We already do this on a small scale with cities covered in asphalt and concrete that trap heat, something that is being looked at and corrected in some places.

In the last decade we have given up a lot of money and some freedom to keep us safe from the possibility of a terrorist attack that might kill hundreds or even thousands. How much effort should we put into dealing with the possibility of a global problem that can kill millions?