First my apologies, for this long reply, but I do think it will be of interest, and I would appreciate your indulgence ----

I too cannot discount Global Warming, anymore than I could discount sudden Global Cooling, in which case, you would hear about the necessity, of some sort of Global Tax, to finance an effort to place large amounts of the dreaded CO2 into our atmosphere.

Are Humans contributing CO2 into the Environment?

Yes.

At a rate exceeding nature's capacity to absorb this
extremely soluble gas?

I do not think so.

Either way, since we are at levels of around 385 ppm,
and life has thrived with levels around 2000 ppm,
I'd say there are many environmental issues more pressing than this one, at the present.

Humanity faced a crisis of sort, when around 120 - 130 years ago, we were running out of woodland,
to provide firewood enough to maintain our then
primitive lifestyles. It took some where in the neighborhood of 90 chords of wood yearly, to run an
average household.

So, along comes the utilization of oil and natural gas, followed by electricity.

Trees grew back, soot from coal burning was decreased in Cities -- Problem solved -- no mass hysteria -- and no rush at global conferences to mandate solutions.

Now, CO2 threat or not, we are ready to move on again.

Nuclear Fission for sure, Windmills and Solar Farms where applicable, and the final solution of Nuclear Fusion, or perhaps solutions more advanced, and even, obvious.

The Sun's radiation output, colliding with the Earth's magnetic field, results in a huge Dynamo -- that seems sort of obvious, just as Tesla thought it to be.

And, as the great Tesla said -----
"Ere many generations pass, our machinery will be driven by a power obtainable at any point of the universe." —

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower

Also, I believe Coal Power Plants can be engineered
to limit CO2 output, as they are now, but made even more efficient.

So -----

Onward, with the Human race.

However ----

That concept does piss a lot of people off.

There is a deep Misanthropic Element permeating,
what I term as, the Post Modern Environmental Movement.

As proof -- watch these videos from a typical University Website --- full of loving embraces for humanity -----

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/courses/THOC/TheStork.mp4
http://www.ernestcline.com/dmd/
http://www.zo.utexas.edu/courses/THOC/

And further items pertaining to ----

Eric Pianka's March, 2006 acceptance speech for the 2006 Distinguished Texas Scientist award by the The Texas Academy of Science resulted in controversy in the popular press when Forrest Mims claimed that Pianka had advocated genocide. Mims' affiliate at the Discovery Institute, William Dembski, then informed the Department of Homeland Security because he and Mims felt that Pianka's speech fomented bioterrorism. This resulted in the Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewing Pianka in Austin.

http://www.pearceyreport.com/archives/2006/04/transcript_dr_d.php
http://www.sas.org/tcs/weeklyIssues_2006/2006-04-07/feature1p/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Pianka
http://www.cathyyoung.net/speech/Piankaspeech.htm

And if you were to read through the transcript of Pianke's speech, delivered to a crowd of esteemed
scientists, you would catch the part where Pianke is acknowledging the fact, that a form of "Sterilization" has been performed on the public at large, through chemical additives. This he also acknowledges, has not been enough towards population reduction, in his opinion.

And from his Royal Highness---- which can be verified, also, thru mainstream sources --
http://www.propagandamatrix.com/prince.html

And then we have Jacques Cousteau, when not otherwise, "alone in zee deep" --- was thinking about
culling some of us --- and this from an Environmentalist Website ----

http://www.overpopulation.org/older.html
"In November 1991, Jacques-Yves Cousteau reportedly said, in response to an interviewer's question, "Some snakes, mosquitoes, and other animal species pose threats or dangers for humankind. Can they be eliminated like viruses that cause certain diseases?," Cousteau said:] "Getting rid of viruses is an admirable idea, but it raises enormous problems. In the first 1,400 years of the Christian era, population numbers were virtually stationary. Through epidemics, nature compensated for excess births by excess deaths. I talked about this problem with the director of the Egyptian Academy of Sciences. He told me that scientists were appalled to think that by the year 2080 the population of Egypt might reach 250 million. What should we do to eliminate suffering and disease? It's a wonderful idea but perhaps not altogether a beneficial one in the long run. If we try to implement it we may jeopardize the future of our species. It's terrible to have to say this. World population must be stabilized and to do that we must eliminate 350,000 people per day. This is so horrible to contemplate that we shouldn't even say it. But the general situation in which we are involved is" ----

Do the math on that one ----
350,000 x 365 x probably however long it takes to get rid of 5.6 billion of us = about 44 years, to bring us down to the stated max. population goal of 400 million.

By the way, he was talking 350,000 a day in reduction, after factoring in population increase due to births, over and above any current Natural Death Rate.

Had Jacques his way at the time, that would now leave us 25 years to go towards that target, but I believe Jacques was just trying to be nice, and would have preferred something perhaps more expedient.

Even if you agree with some of the above --- shouldn't we be having a discussion about this?

Maybe put it to a vote?

All in favor, say Aye, those who pick the short straws,
stand over here?

And indeed it is a Religion.

Do not write it off as, just "collectivist claptrap".

These people have the potential to be dangerous.

They are capable of killing Billions of people in the service of Mother Earth.

Adherents to this Global Religion, at it's top, are not
shy about voicing this desire, or necessity, as they would call it.

Probably, the ones we encounter here at the "Progressive", are only Useful Idiots, and just parrot
what they've been taught.

Mr. Pal? ---- I am not so sure about him.

I have a problem, not reaching the conclusion, that he is on the payroll, as he seems to always support
some Global Tax, payable to our Global Banking Oligarchs, for any reason, what so ever.

The best "benefit of the doubt", I can give him, is
that of "Useful Idiot" status.

Robert M. La Follette Sr., is indeed, spinning in his grave right now.

And in conclusion ---- "Know Nothings", My Ass!!!!