Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Coda
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The next few years will be important in determining the
course of world efforts to control climate change. Our
eyes and ears are constantly bombarded with claims and
counterclaims that I said in the Introduction included the
sensible, the senseless, and the self-serving. My aim has
been to tell the technical side of the story in an honest
fashion at a level for the general public without oversim-
plifying or hiding the consequences of the choices that
must be made. I hope that armed with some facts the
reader can distinguish between my three Ss.
Many say that in democracies the people are rarely
willing to make hard choices unless they are frightened
of the consequences of not making them. Perhaps I am
too much the romantic, but I believe that they are willing
when the problem is clear and the consequences of action
or inaction are clear. I hope you will take a few things
away from this topic:
The greenhouse effect is real;
We are changing the atmosphere and the world is
heating up;
The science is still evolving and how bad things might
become is still uncertain;
Inaction is certain to have serious consequences;
The longer we delay starting to deal with climate
change, the harder dealing with the problem will be;
