Hi Paul. I'm sorry but i don't see how the idea of global warming furthers the distinction between the pragmatists and the doomsdayers. i think that division is already clear, and by definition as seperate as can be. Will we ever run out of oil? I don't think so. Will it get to a point that the extraction of fossil fuels will get to a point where the cost out weighs the benefits? Most likely. Will a new energy be found to replace fossil fuels? I think by necessity, there most certianly will. I believe this is the pragmatic way to look at the situation at hand. Predicting a total and permanent collapse of our economy to the point that all stability and order is gone, in other words "the darkness", would be the fatalists point of view.
i think we're in the same book, just different pages. i totally agree that our dependence on fossil fuels is a bad thing, and that we need to back away from it. however, i think it's very naive to say that the current global warming is natural. i think it's even more naive to say that humans aren't a contributing factor to it. as i said before, i will remain to be a pesimistic optimist about the whole situation.
i guess i just don't unerstand what you're saying in your last post. maybe your big words are just over my head. who knows?