Actually, I don't think the mainstream science communities disagree with what you say here. There have been very drastic climate swings... what seems to have happened is that over the last 10,000 years the climate has been very stable. By studying ice cores in both Greenland and Antartica, however, they have discovered that the average global temperature is now higher than it has been in a long, long time. The glaciers that provide water to so much of the planet are disappearing. Many, many communities are being affected at the current time.

Is man a major contributor to this warming? I would be inclined to think, just on the basis of world population and a quick look at Google Earth that... yes... there's a good possibility.

What this all means and how we can fix it is not at all clear. A lot of evidence points to greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide and methane. OK... maybe the evidence is insufficient for some us, but.... on the off chance that this *is* correct, shouldn't we at least admit that it might be possible? Just suspend judgment, listen to the facts, compare those facts against what we personally observe and experience.

For a long time, I agreed with you, phinney. This sounds like hogwash. But after looking into it a lot, I'm not so sure. And I'm concerned.