Ok, so China and India (who will soon far outstrip all greenhouse emissions of the West) are expected to pay for this high technology? Do they really have the incentive to do this? Is it not hypocritical of us to expect them to sacrifice their right to develop because we messed ours up? Seeing as about 20% of human greenhouse emissions are from Rice Paddies (Dorling Kindersley statistic) I doubt that small cuts will have any effect. 85% cuts! NO CHANCE! The world is still undergoing massive growth, growth needs fuel. Anyone that expects those goals to be attainable is either idealistic, or supports destroying the worlds economy and putting many Asians out on the streets in the process. OUT ON THE STREETS YOU HEAR ME?! Now, why don't we look at more productive problems such as AIDs and Poverty, we could actually have a huge impact on these.

Edward, Belfast, Ireland (North)

With one after another world-wide announcement made about global warming, one fresh and hopeful note has yet to be sounded. There is a well understood, proven way, at low cost, and with many other benefits, to sequester the excess CO2 that man has placed into the atmosphere ... re-establish the fertility and vitality of our soils while we stop using fossil carbons as our energy source and in agricultural products. We already know how to do this, and in a surprisingly short time. It will only be those with vested interests in fossil fuels that can keep us thinking that there are not other alternatives. A very large cause of the excess CO2 has been the destruction of both macro and micro life in our soils and water by use of fossil carbon products in agriculture. Allan C.Yeomans, a respected agriculturist in Australia has convincingly written about this in a very readable book titled Priority One, Together We Can Beat Global Warming. .downloadable free online.

Gerald A Brittell, Lancaster, USA / Virginia

Desmond, you need to turn on your sarcasm detector. Do you really think Rev. Butter wants to go extinct?

Wingnut, communism is built on the concept of slavery. Slavery to everyone around you, slavery to your government, and slavery to anyone who has less than you or "needs" something you have that they don't. Every communist society in the world has failed, has left its people in ruins, or has finally discovered "market economy" aka China's version of capitalism. You also forget that communist countries have even more environmental problems than first world countries. Starvation in Russia, starvation in China, sandstorms in Beijing, and floods or droughts along various rivers in China are just the beginnings of the ruins Communism has left behind.

John, Miami, FL, USA

Does Desmond Taylor really imagine that any halfway-competent climate scientist never thought about what effect water vapour would have? Let alone 2000 of them?

As it happens, water vapour is a greenhouse gas, so it causes warming, not cooling. And no, I'm not even a halway-competent climate scientist, just someone who has read a book or two on the subject - a practice I recommend to anyone thinking of commenting on it.

Bill Linton, London,

nicely put wingnut. yes capitalism is just one paradigm for the functioning of the planet, and one that most thoughtful free thinking people are gradually understanding has its limits. Any economic system that has the destruction of the environment we all depend on as its criteria for advancement is got to be avoided. But we have to start living, being and thinking in a different way, and that is our greatest challenge. I don't want to get all sentimental about caring and sharing but we do have to start thinking about more than the bottom line. There are wonderful guidelines in many of the worlds great religious and philosophical writings. We can turn this around and learn to live happily without destroying the place.

ravi, vrindavan, India

It would appear that the Rev Butter is a Priest of the new Religion, Eco-Wacko.!! Does he buy his carbon eucharist from St Al Gore the living Prophet of the new Religion.? As a Socialist he reminds me of the 'Red Dean' of Canterbury, Dr Hugh Hewiit. Wonderfall man. but as mad as a March Hare. By the way, with regard to the article, have you noticed that no-one is talking about the water vapour in the atmosphere. As the Earth's surface is 70% water, do any-one think it does not have COOLING effect.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Texas

Capitalism has nothing to do with freedom. It certainly has nothing to do with letting anyone have there say.

A veteran, Denver, CO

Sirs,

The UN is using a technique recommended in a volume I read some years ago. It was entitled "How to lie with Statistics" It is to use a small percentage of a very large number. Twelve one hundredths of World GDP exceeds 5334 billions of dollars.

Wallace Edward Brand, Alexandria, Virgnia, USA

I completely agree. God (our imagined Earth-creator) loathes progress and those that would value rewarding individual effort. Only if we work together can we stagnate, only by defying nature's lessons on natural selection and competition can we truly find freedom through extinction. We must protect our Christian kingdom from those of us who defy conformity as well as outsiders who believe differently. Our God is a single minded god demanding obedience, punishing diversity and progress as the greatest sin to his ONLY way. Only through the removal of capitalism/economies can we eliminate cost and price, and thus eliminate the ability to fairly distribute goods - we must cease to commit the sin of individual equity!

Rev. Butter, Hometown, USA

Sirs,

Some people just can't acknowledge that Communism failed. Wingnut of Minneapolis appears to be one of them.

Wallace Edward Brand, Alexandria, Virgnia, USA

Of course, without capitalism and freedom, "Wingut" wouldn't have this platform with which to spew his stark-raving lunacy. I'd like to see "Wingut" and his socialist/slavery ilk produce anything of value without "cost". Government cheese, anyone?

Rational American, Denver, CO

There's NO COST to cleaning up the mess caused by building crappy non-reuseable products via capitalism... IF we just REMOVE capitalism/economies. This way, nothing has a cost, nothing has a price, nothing "orders" a group of slaves into trying to fix planet burn. It all comes down to dedication to continuence of loved planet. But capitalists don't love the planet or people, they just love shopping and sweets... and "winning", financially. Capitalists just keep watching those Bloomberg numbers for upward movement, and fail to watch the Jesus numbers for planet destruction and humankind unhappiness. Giant pyramid schemes of servitude... such as capitalism/imperialism... tend to be that way. As soon as we all drop the notion that competition is healthy (gov/Mason rules) and get back to KNOWING that cooperation is the ONLY way (Earth-creator's rules)... we'll be on the right track again. The planet/people burning... is CAUSED by rat-racing for dollars and making crappy products.

Wingnut, Minneapolis, mn

Carbon dioxide emmissions = Population x Average carbon dioxide emmissions. Hence population should be controlled. Secondly, average carbon dioxide emmissions could be controlled by energy rationing. In addition,Government could do far more to reduce the emmissions they make on our behalf. On the military front, getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan would save huge amounts of energy. At home adjusting activity to daylight could bring savings.

Barry Crossland, Elland, West Yorkshire

I blame the situation we are in on the environmental movement. As dedicated obstructionists they have opposed all viable options to alternatives energies. Hydroelectric and nuclear power are essentially emission free sources of power generation that can be converted to hydrogen production. The environmental movement has vehemently and blindly opposed both at great cost to human race.

Bill W, Dixon, USA / IL

The real issue is not too many people but too many people overconsuming (including overpackaging, etc) and too little reuse. We could have many times the population if we did not burn oil as, say, USA citizens. For that to happen, they need a democrat president who will not be afraid to top up oil taxation (which in turn will induce innovation in the industry, partiularly cars, which would need to learn to improve efficiency).
A healthy modern lifestyle does not need to involve throwing glass, paper and batteries into the bin, or putting the heating at max while opening the windows. Along with technology, we need a cultural change i.e. something like a hippie three letter - eco - revolution.
Population control, I agree, is important too, but is not at this present moment the vital factor (but will be in the future).
Good luck to us all!

Victorovitch, Cambridge, UK

ALL the estimates about the so-called effect of humans on the Earth are missing one crucial item. Has anyone estimated the effect of water vapour on these models. Earth is 70% water, and these clowns do not mention it.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Texas

The IPCC is purely political and the that panel has complete say over what is talked about, what the slant of the agenda will be, and whom they choose to write the briefs which the panel will comb through and review.
The problem is that there isn't even one documented climate expert on the ICPP board, they're international selectees of the UN to sit on this panel, yet they are given absolute control over what we read as "expert" climate analysis.
They pick and choose who will research and if you're contrary to the opinion they want, they will not allow you to participate. It's completely political, not scientific, therefore it's a sham.

M.Paul, Springfield, usa

I can add nothing more to J King's comments. It is SO obvious and yet the green experts create this futile and incredibly expensive hysteria and ignore the real solution.

Jerry Perkins, Mendoza, Argentina

Changing lifestyles, perhaps by abandoning having conferences in exotic parts of the world and instead having video conferences?

Chris, Surrey,

Slam the brakes on a bus going 120 to stop on a dime?
What are these guys nuts?
Zero possibility of doing it with republicans knuckle dragging about costs to their precious corporate bosses. Maybe 'start reducing' after those corporations are two feet under water... but not in a purposeful, meaningful way.
No, the best thing you can do, is convert to the correct religion and save your immortal souls.
Weren't we working on solving that one?

kelly Burch, Coarsegold, Ca, USA, USA, USA!!

The REAL issue is - too many people. The carrying capacity of the Earth has been exceeded. We need to cut global population to about one billion and keep it there, if we want everyone in the foreseeable future to have a healthy modern human lifestyle, rather than living in squalor, ill-health and semi-starvation. If we merely use technology to "fix" the current situation without instituting effective and fair worldwide population control, population increase will very quickly negate any gains in greenhouse gas control and climate preservation made by technology.

J King, Philadelphia, PA USA