Al Gore thinks he understands the science and that it is "settled." Neither are accurate, which is why Gore consistently refuses to debate any dissenter with any credentials, much less a scientist, and why dissenters were blackballed from the UN Bali lovefest.

Any movement which cannot withstand dissent is hiding something, either in its "factual" basis or its goals. That is proven time after time.

Gore is a poseur. A wealthy poseur, but still a poseur.

Disgusting is a printable word.

Harry Schell

Pasadena, CA

The key question in the global warming crisis is not whether it's happening or not. That's beyond dispute. The notion that we are responsible for it is in dispute, although even that arguement is fast becoming irrelevant. The big question is, How are we going to attack the problem? So far I've seen backward- and forward-looking solutions. Shared cars, "carbon footprint taxes" restrictions on emissions, things of this nature, designed to either take us back to the Stone Age or give Gov yet another excuse for exercising control over the public's lives, are steps backward. A step forward would be auto companies designing fuel-efficient cars, not 30 or 35mpg, like the Japanese have already been doing for years, but 50, 75,100mpg. (This was actually done by someone back in the '80s). I don't believe we can't do it. Or better yet a car that runs on a completely different fuel. I don't believe we can't do that either.

Maybe we ought to start building a dike along the Eastern and Southern coast. Sound crazy? Think of the jobs it would create. If we start now we'd probably make it. The enormous scale of the project is something prior generations would have embraced just for its own sake. Why not this generation?

Success will be determined by how we approach the problem. Do we allow our leaders to mire us in self-guilt, creating solutions that make life harder and give them more and more control over our lives in the interest of "knowing what's best" for us? Or do we get up off our asses and fix it, or at least survive it while continuing to enjoy prosperous and progressive lifestyles?

When Al Gore lives in a rancher and drives a Honda like I do, then I'll take advice from him on how best to fight global warming.

We don't need Al Gore to help us through this, with his Eeyore-like pessimism. We need another Bill Gates, only this time an energy or mechanical genius.

Charles Thornton

Reisterstown, MD