Introduction - Beyond Smoke and Mirrors - page 2

replace coal and today s versions of solar power. The

other is the real story behind the collection of sensible,
senseless, and self-serving arguments that are being
pushed by scientists, environmentalists, corporate execu-
tives, politicians, and world leaders. I mean the title both
ways, and the topic looks at the technical and policy
options and what is really hiding behind the obscuring
rhetorical smoke and mirrors. There are many ways to
proceed and, unfortunately, there are more senseless
arguments than sensible ones, and still more that are
self-serving.
I divide those doing the most talking into the anti-
greens, sometimes called the deniers; the greens; and the
ultra-greens, sometimes called the exaggerators. As you
might guess, I consider the greens to be the good guys.
I classify myself among them.
There is a rapidly declining number of those denying
that human activities are increasing the global tempera-
ture, but the species is not yet extinct and perhaps will
never be. These are the anti-greens. Even they agree that
the greenhouse effect is real, and that greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere are the main element that controls the
average temperature of the planet. Why they do not agree
that changing the greenhouse gas concentration changes
the temperature is beyond me.
The ultra-greens have declared an immediate planet-
wide emergency where money is no object and where
only solutions that match their programs are acceptable.
They seem to have forgotten that the object is to cut
greenhouse gas emission, not just to run the world on
windmills and solar cells, which alone are insuf

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cient to
deal with the problem. By rejecting options that do not