The conversation about the effects of global warming dates back to 300 BC by Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle. In 1988, the United Nations set up an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to access the scientific evidence. The Timeline: How the world discovered global warming story at Reuters tells how the world has been squabbling about this issue for the last 23-years.

I think everyone agrees the world is getting warmer, but no one really knows what it means. People in cold parts of the world think it would be a great for things to warm up a little. Others fear more cataclysmic scenarios like drought induced famine, severe hurricanes, or even a new Ice Age as dramatized in The Day After Tomorrow film.

I believe we should be cautious. Per the old English proverb, “Better safe than sorry.”