Global Warming...

Lots of talk about "global warming" in the news these days. The MSM is hyping GW as the next big thing, the "looming catastrophe" threatening to bring about TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It, for those out of the acronym loop). Bear in mind, this is the same MSM that, thirty years ago, was predicting a coming Ice Age. So forgive me if I'm wearing a big honkin' "S" for skeptic here...

In that vein, I've got three questions for the global warming true believers:

1. Can you prove that the current increase in temperature that we are experiencing (usually quoted as a 1ºF rise over the past century or so) is beyond that of a normal warming trend?

2. If #1 is in fact correct, can you prove that the cause for the increase is man and man alone? Bear in mind that the ice caps on Mars are melting as well, and also that we're seeing an increase in solar output.

3. Once we've established that #1 and #2 are correct, can you propose any meaningful solution that:

• Doesn't involve mankind going back into caves for the next 1,000 years, or
• Doesn't specifically target only the United States for systematic hobbling of its industrial processes.

'Cuz, I have my doubts on all three. I'm not entirely certain that the rise in temperatures we've seen over the past hundred or so years is out of sync with standard fluctuations. But I'm willing to listen to evidence to the contrary. I'm more skeptical that man is the problem - volcanic eruptions alone account for lots of CO2 emissions, and there's not a damn thing we can do about those. And, lastly, and perhaps more importantly, I fail to see any solutions being proposed that do NOT specifically target the United States of America as the be-all, end-all to global warming.

Any "plan" for reducing global warming that lets China and India off scot-free is doomed from the onset. Provided, of course, that the actual goal is the reduction of greenhouse gases and theoretical increase in global warming, as opposed to the toppling of the American economy...

UPDATE: Talk about timely! Bruce has a perfect bumper sticker for my truck. Go. Buy several.