t century, but---regardless ofwhether it is or isnt--we wont do much about it. We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make somefairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it. But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem,the less likely they are to be observed. AI Gore calls giobal warming an "inconvenient truth," as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to asolution. But the real truth is that we dont know enough to relieve global warming, and--without majortechnological breakthroughs--we cant do much about it. From 2003 to 2050, the worlds population is projected to grow from 6.4 billion to 9.1 billion, a 42% increase.If energy use per person and technology remain the same, total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions(mainly CO2) will be 42% higher in 2050. But thats too low, because societies that grow richer use more energy. We need economic growth unless we condemn the worlds poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone elsesliving standards. With modest growth, energy use and greenhouse emissions more than double by 2050. No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freedom (limits on electricityusage, driving and travel) that might cut back global warming. Still, politicians want to show theyre "doingsomething." Consider the Kyoto Protocol(《京都议定书》). It allowed countries that joined to punish those thatdidnt. But it hasnt reduced CO2 emissions (up about 25% since 1990), and many signatories (签字国) didntadopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets. The practical conclusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster, the only solution is new technology.Only an aggressive research and development program might find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuelsor dealing with it. The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral problem when its really an engineering one. The inconvenient truth is that if we dont solve the engineering problem, were helpless. What is said about global warming in the first paragraph?
A.It may not prove an environmental crisis at all.
B.It is an issue requiring worldwide commitments.
C.Serious steps have been taken to avoid or stop it.
D.Very little will be done to bring it under control.