A Non-hysterical, Sensible View Of Climate Change

Then along came Al Gore, a Democrat who lost the election for president. Climate change became a partisan issue. We could have used a Carl Sagan of climate, a serious spokesman for science.
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Who will be hardest hit by climate change?
Most of the large temperature changes will happen at the poles—where no one lives. The next largest will be the temperate zones, home to wealthy countries with manufacturing and service-based economies. But our wealth will permit us to cope. It will not be pleasant, but at least we will be able to manage. The real irony is that temperature change will be smallest in the tropics and subtropics, but because these areas are poor, densely populated and dependent on agriculture, they will suffer most. If you’re on the edge of survival you can’t take small change[s].

From Kim Martineau's interview of Professor John Mutter, "You Can Ignore Polar Bears, But Not People" on State Of The Planet blog. Mutter is Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Department of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.