Don't worry about saving the planet. Yup, the planet will be fine, it's us who're gonna be in trouble.

Comets, asteroids, ice-ages, steamy jungle periods; planet keeps on rollin' along. It's the critters who pay the price.

What's gonna hurt us (but not the planet, the planet will cope) is that this warming is far more abrupt and extreme than "normal" global change. All the niche-refilling and adaptive radiation and migrational change that would normally have plenty of time to keep up just *can't* right now.

50 years of human-initiated warming isn't as sexy or dramatic as 50 minutes of comet collision, but on a geologic scale it might be just as devastating. We've got extinction rates going thru the roof right now. Just look at what's happening to the amphibians.

I'm actually more concerned about living ethically/low impact than I am about global warming. (though I suppose they do tie together) I feel more ashamed knowing that someone in China is living substandard, breathing incredibly polluted air, and working under conditions I would never want to work under; just so I can have my Nikes for cheap. How many child slaves worked to death mining, how many murdered gem smugglers, just to get that pretty diamond necklace from The Shane Co at half it's real value?

(though now you can get "certified" blood-free and slave-labor free diamonds, but I don't really believe it. A metallurgist I know has a titanium wedding ring, because he feels the mining practices for titanium are more ethical than for gold. There are choices to be aware of everywhere.)