Global warming is a real problem that faces us all as Americans. It's caused by too many people using too much energy and consuming too many resources all at once. It's not the fault of any specific individual's choices, but that of our greater global society. We must address this problem with bold solutions that not only reduce or at least maintain our levels of carbon dioxide emissions, but also provide greater opportunity to Americans and other peoples across the world.

We can reduce the effects of global warming though we can not eliminate the impacts. Our weather will become more troublesome, and we will see things that impact us from the fertile farm fields in our valleys to the life as we know it in the big cities. We will have to learn to live with the impacts of high fossil fuel consumption and try to at the same time reduce our consumption. It's a real problem that the world faces as a whole.

It seems nearly impossible that we will be able to get away from our massive consumption of fossil fuels though smart policy we can cut the growth in consumption or maybe even reduce our carbon footprint society. That does not mean we have to give up our quality of life. Instead, we should try practical steps to make our cars more efficient, our mass transit more friendly for suburbanites to ride, insulate our buildings better, and use more efficient lighting. We should strive to not increase our carbon dioxide pollution despite world wide population increases.

Smart policy will realize that we can control our carbon dioxide emissions without destroying our economy or greatly impacting our lives. We have some of the most brilliant people in our country who can develop technologies that can use fuel more efficiently and new sources of energy that are carbon neutral or don't require the burning of any hydrocarbons.