Well, the scientists have spoken in Paris as to global warming. The most alarming part of what these scientists said on the issue, is that the higher sea levels and rise in temperatures "would continue for centuries" regardless of how we now control pollution. It definitely sounds like we have perhaps reached the point of no return. The scientists noted that there is a greater than 90% certainty that global warming is the result of human fossil fuel burning. Stronger hurricanes were found to be a product of global warming. The panel of scientists found that temperatures could rise 2-11.5 degrees by 2100, when some of our kids could still be alive. Meanwhile, sea levels are expected to rise 7 inches to almost 2 feet (!) by the end of this century. Didn't it take only a few degrees of temperature changes to bring on the last ice age? Haven't scientists stated that many of our cities and islands could be underwater due to rising sea levels?

After reading these findings, I felt a bit resigned to the fact that this is our destiny. Yet, I tried to reel that in quickly, by thinking, what happens if we don't curb pollution levels at this juncture? Would the 11.5 degrees increase and 2 foot sea level rise be our reality? Although the best case scenario hardly sounds appealing, it beats that worst case scenario any day. In addition, I tried to focus on the fact that since we can change the climate in such a negative way, perhaps we can make enough radical changes to reverse the situation, even if the snowball effect has already started. After all, if our survival on this planet cannot motivate radical changes, what will? It seems that self-preservation is the best instinct to work with right now. Yet, there will undoubtedly be many people who try to ignore the scientists' findings, including people in our current administration, because they want to continue down the easier path of the status quo. I think it's time we start treating global warming like we would a pandemic of a killer disease. If the latter occurred, we would drop everything to stop the spread of the killer disease and we would put as many scientists and other professionals to work to bring it under control. When are we going to stop burying our heads in the sand and start looking at global warming in the same way? Let's focus on renewable energy and find a way to make drastic, and yes, costly, cuts in our carbon emissions. This seems to be the only answer. It's just not the one we want to hear.