what the [online] world thinks about global warming

Here is an excerpt from an article on global warming policy, originally published in the UK's Independent. This morning it ranked on technorati as the 48th most discussed topic in blogs worldwide. Below the excerpt I've posted quotes from groups and blogs in response.

Shining Light in Dark Corners: "The global warming danger threshold for the world is clearly marked for the first time in an international report to be published tomorrow - and the bad news is, the world has nearly reached it already.

The countdown to climate-change catastrophe is spelt out by a task force of senior politicians, business leaders and academics from around the world - and it is remarkably brief. In as little as 10 years, or even less, their report indicates, the point of no return with global warming may have been reached.

The report, Meeting The Climate Challenge, is aimed at policymakers in every country, from national leaders down. It has been timed to coincide with Tony Blair's promised efforts to advance climate change policy in 2005 as chairman of both the G8 group of rich countries and the European Union.

And it breaks new ground by putting a figure - for the first time in such a high-level document - on the danger point of global warming, that is, the temperature rise beyond which the world would be irretrievably committed to disastrous changes. These could include widespread agricultural failure, water shortages and major droughts, increased disease, sea-level rise and the death of forests - with the added possibility of abrupt catastrophic events such as 'runaway' global warming, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, or the switching-off of the Gulf Stream. [...]"

Two blogs summarized at technorati:
INDC Journal:
"...[people talk] about or snidely mock the dire proclamations of environmentalists as "junk science" trotted out for political purposes. And sometimes, they're right. But I have a problem with right-wing commentators that immediately lurch to attack stories like this in absolutist terms: Climate change: report warns point of no return may be reached in 10 years, leading to droughts, agricultural failure and water shortages..."

from Country Store:
"Who's up for an "End of the World" scam? Ruh oh! It's Countdown to global catastrophe :The global warming danger threshold for the world is clearly marked for the first time in an international report to be published tomorrow - and the bad news is, the world has nearly reached it already..."

from comments on a blog called Right Voices:
"Human beings have no effect on global warming. The Earth warms and cools in cycles. It’s been happening long before we Humans were around, and it will always continue, wether we are here or not. There is not a damn thing we can do about global warming, so why worry about it as if we can somehow change it….like Al Gore does in his book"

"I am positive that in 10 years, little will have changed as far as global warming is concerned. These Scientists are wrong, just like they always are…this reeks of something put out there by the Environmentalist nut jobs. Weren’t they saying that we wouldn’t have an Ozone left in ten years, and that was about ten years ago? I guess we didn’t destroy it after all….maybe because we can’t you tree hugging morons, just like we can’t do anything to add or take away from Global Warming."

Comments at slashdot:

"I live in Michigan, US. I want global warming about now. It's about 0 degrees here. The sensor in my tire froze and broke now saying my car has low air pressure in the tires. I step out side and feel my noze hair freeze. BRING ON THE GLOBAL WAMING!!!!!! I need to thaw out."

"Since we've already reached the threshold... I'm buying a Hummer!"