The Debate Is Not Over

The debate is not over, notwithstanding the number of times that reports, lectures and newspaper articles begin with the contrary assertion. Although there is little question that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen significantly in the two centuries since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and that the global climate is indeed changing, there is still vigorous discussion over how much change is the result of manmade contribution to CO2 levels and what will be the effects over the next decades and even centuries. In reality, we will only know what the future will bring once the future becomes the present. The debates do raise significant issues regarding how much certainty is enough to prompt the imposition of mandatory climate change requirements.