You should read a few of my other posts (and my article) on Global Warming. You'll see that I agree with most of your points.

I agree whether or not Global Warming is real or man-made we should be taking care of our environment.

But Govt. shouldn't force us to make vast technological changes (which can hurt the economy far more than Global Warming). The govt. can't force Toyota or GM to come up with the longer lasting battery, just because electric cars will save the environment. Technology can't be badgered into working better.

And as you know, global climate shifts happen all the time, and have occurred (on an even great scale) in the past; long before man-made pollution.

I just think the article above is interesting in that some things in science are 'theories' as they should be until proven, yet so many (on both sides of the issue) are 100% convinced that science proves one way or the other on Global Warming.

The temp of the earth shifts all the time, and has done so for billions of years. Human existence is only a small flake of time in the history of Earth. How can we say that this one particular climate shift is caused by humans, when all the other 12 - 17 shifts have been caused by naturally occurring patterns of carbon dioxide and ice?

If you don't already know, there are a lot of prominent scientists who have come out with data that shows the climate does shift in patterns, and that humans have little to nothing to do with it. Those scientists have actually been banned from the scientific communities around the globe, and 2 years ago when one of them tried to speak at a banquet about his data, he was taken off the stage and removed from the banquet hall. He was speaking to his colleagues about his data that shows humans having little effect on the global climate.

And your theory of hemp is actually misguided. I understand your interest in the subject, because hemp is supposedly so useful. Well, there are a lot of things out there that are useful, but not efficient. Do you realize that for 1 acre of trees you can produce 1000x more paper than 1 acre of hemp? Not a very efficient business if you ask me. And the Federal govt. doesn't have to step in on that one. If a lumber company could make more money with hemp don't you think they would do it? That is why we live in a capitalist society, if you can make more money, do it! Lumber and paper companies own hundreds-of-thousands of acres of land. If they could switch to Hemp and make more product more efficiently (as you put it) don't you think they would?

This hemp business aside, Global Warming is not an accurate term. I actually don't think that term should exist. Climate shift (or change) is the acceptable term for describing what the Earth goes though (on its own). The human influence in climate shift is still not a proven factor, and honestly most of the scientific data shows that we don't have much of an impact at all. But the money (scientists need to get paid too) is in Global Warming. If you are a scientist in the business of proving Global Warming and the Human Influence; you are going to make a lot of money from grants and donations. If you are a scientist trying to show the opposite is true, good luck cashing your welfare check?

Money makes the world go round, and right now polluting, oil, and Global Warming are the big money making items. I just hope that in the future, clean power technologies, cancer research, and AIDS treatment can be the big ticket items. But we'll have to wait and see.