force Americans to sacrifice their way of life or trim their hopes and dreams for their children

The former (way of life) is contradictory to the latter (dreams for their children). Is wastage of food, wastage of energy or the wastage of neurons in people's brains : is it the american way of life ? If you define it thus, then ofcourse, this has to change, to preserve the dreams of our future generations. What part of this is difficult to understand ?  

doomsday climate change scenarios peddled by the aficionados of centralized command-and-control government

Doomsday climate change scenarios are a clear and distinct possibility. They are "peddled" by scientists of all hues, if you care to listen to the scientific debate. They are no aficiandos of centralized command-control government here. Infact, the problem is indeed centralized-command-control economic power vested in a powerful few. Republican leadership are just puppets of these people (read big oil).

It would be unrealistic and counterproductive to expect the U.S. to carry burdens which are more appropriately shared by all.

Preventing climate change is not a "burden". It is common sense. If Republicans care even a little about American leadership in the world, they will accept that responsibility. But what they care about is not American leadership, but American exploitation of world's resources.

Wake up, this era is coming to an end in a multi-polar world.

address the risk of climate change based on sound science without succumbing to the no-growth radicalism that treats climate questions as dogma rather than as situations to be managed responsibly.

Economic growth is always possible in a no-carbon economy. It is not a no-growth scenario. In fact, there are lots of green-collar jobs to be made and the US manufacturing industry will receive a boom by adopting green economic policies. It is the fossil-fuel based economy which faces clearly defined limits to economic growth, because these reserves are drying up and they are by no means sustainable.

And please, climate-science is not a dogma. You know what "dogma" means ? Turn the pages of the dictionary : a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church. For example, (a) intelligent design based on biblical dates (b) laisse faire economics (c) opposition to cell culture and other Republican talkative points classify as "dogma". In contrast, climate-science works by analysis, feedback and scientific criticism.

People in power cannot afford to be "stupid". People in power should not be "greedy". Republican ideology is a dangerous cocktail of the two.

First thing, we should end using the Republican language in our debates.

The problem with Republican ideology is clear (a) Too much power to big oil (b) Too little investment in the alternative energies of future (c) Sacrifice of science for the sake of petty self-interests.

This is what the debate should be about.

Let's think in terms of eco-dollars.

...... with the hope assuring a substainable global economy and a good enough future for our children.

How is adequate, sustained attention to be drawn to the greedy kings and self-proclaimed masters of the universe who are responsible for the perpetration of such a colossal, fraudulent and patently unsustainable scheme as we see in the rampant process of seemingly endless economic globalization?

At least to me, it appears that the huge scale of unbridled global economic growth is a canker threatening to overspread and eventually ruin Earth as a fit place for human habitation.  

Changing from an unsustainable world economy to a sustainable one has got to be made the goal, does it not?  

Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population,
established 2001
http://sustainabilitysoutheast.org/index.php

One of the most regrettable things about contemporary conservatism - aside from forgetting Edmund Burke's notion of humanity as stewards of the natural world - is the unwillingness to acknowledge basic scientific realities. Sometimes, this is because of ideological conflicts; acknowledging the immense danger posed by climate change basically means admitting that government regulation is required.

We can only hope that improvements in national science education will eventually emerge and help to render such falsehoods recognizable to most of the populace.

a sibilant intake of breath

Would reason and common sense not suggest that the family of humanity open discussions of the "basic scientific realities" so that some kind of meaningful effort can be made to move from a patently unsustainable, unbridled world economy to a global economy that is a substantial and sustainable one?

If the manmade economy is constructed as a 'perpetual motion machine' and managed as a colossal pyramid scheme, then economists can be expected to promulgate new, more reality-oriented theories, to develop new business models and to accomplish goals worthy of the Nobel Prizes we want them to earn.

Sincerely,

Steve

Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population,
established 2001
http://sustainabilitysoutheast.org/index.php

We can plan such a disruption.

Or.

We can watch it happen as the Australians are doing now.

Choose.

Put the Carbon Back

You report,

" don't want to disrupt the global economy

yeah, don't want to rock the boat now that the world is nice and peaceful and stable and we've eliminated poverty and starvation for everyone...  ^_^ "

Thanks for saying what is so obvious and so real.  You are correct.  Just as you suggest, people with wealth and the power it purchases like things just the way they are and, as you put it, do not want to "rock the boat."  Everyone can see the point you are making; however, you have likely noticed that not everyone is saying what you are saying. Perhaps wealthy people and their bought-and-paid-for politicians "preach" silence in the face of what is real about the world we inhabit and eschew the words of open, honest and courageous people regarding what is real about the human condition: armed conflicts in many places {but not in enclaves of the wealthy and powerful}; economic bubbles, Ponzi games and pyramid schemes underwriting soon to become unsustainable global economic growth; rampant political destabilization; poverty affecting billions of people and massive starvation of millions of children; diseases and pestilence........

Thanks for speaking truth to power so succinctly, loudly and clearly.

Steven Earl Salmony
AWAREness Campaign on The Human Population,
established 2001
http://sustainabilitysoutheast.org/index.php