My feeling: AGW is impotent as a political cause because the affects of climate change are just way, way too slow for the human decision making process.

We are short term thinkers and doers. That’s evolutionary and can’t really be escaped. It takes a great deal of effort, and luck, to get groups of people (societies) to manage themselves and plan for decade-long efforts. Big picture items like climate change are too difficult in these circumstances.

Which leads me to COP17, which starts in two weeks. It looks to be worse than ever. Durban will not be the savior of the process.

E.g., the Indians (and not just the reactionary right Republicans in this country) are objecting to the EU adding carbon fees to air flights that land or take off in the EU. India claims that this was not a consensual approach, that all the parties involved have to agree to these things and that a single actor (the EU) can’t make these sort of decisions on their own.

So, frankly, I think my conclusion will stand - that nothing (of consequence) at all will really be done about AGW, at least from a mitigation perspective.