Global Warming "Junk Science"

It's the hot topic nowadays. Global warming. On one side of the fight, you have Al Gore, who is championing the we have to make a change now or in ten years the world is gonna be trashed campaign. On the other side, we have Neo-Cons who write off anything said as being "Junk Science" and that global warming is a myth.

So, I've decided to look at things from another perspective. What if we try to make these recommended changes to curb global warming, but for other reasons?

One of the biggest factors in the global warming campaign is reduced automotive emissions. The ways to reduce them are designing more fuel efficient vehicles. By doing so, what does that gain us?

First it would decrease our oil consumption. We would be less dependent on foreign oil. I'm always reading about evil Iran, the evil Saudi's, evil Venezuela... lowering oil consumption lowers their economic grip on the world and us. It makes economic sanctions against countries that much easier on us.

Second, with more fuel efficient vehicles, people and businesses will save money. Instead of spending money on fuel for transport, that money can be invested in other infrastructure. Companies investing in themselves is good for economics last I checked. So in increased consumer spending. Yet another win.

Third, increased research and development in obtaining those more fuel efficient vehicles. Current fuel prices are a benefit towards this one, since at $3.19 a gallon out here, people are paying a bit more attention to the gas mileage the new ride gets. There is a genuine interest and demand for fuel efficiency nowadays. We have our gas electric hybrids. BMW is designing a hybrid that derives its power from escaped heat via a small steam engine. Increasing our ability to produce ethanol to supliment gasoline is also a possiblility, as it can be mixed (up to 10%) with gasoline to more or less, stretch out our gas and lower emissions (as it burns cleaner).

The other steps involve decreasing our electrical usage from fossil fuels. This doesn't necessarily mean leave the lights off. It means more efficient bulbs. How did we get those? Research and development. Investment. Those two things pop up regularly, don't they? Yes, those more efficient bulbs cost more initially. Thing is, they last a lot longer too. Less replacement=save time and money. Using less electricity=save money. Might just balance out huh?

Thats just a small portion of what can be done. I'm not going to sit here and research out ten billion things, or crawl on my knees shouting Hail Gore savior of all from dubs. The scientists who claim global warming might be wrong, they might be right. I don't know, I'm a college student who knows more about computer architecture and C++ programming. I just see a much bigger picture than the global warming debate when it comes to the argument.