For most of history, humans believed that the weather was governed by forces outside their control, but today we're no longer so sure. Something weird, it's claimed, is going on with the weather, from storms and hurricanes to droughts. Vice Pres. AL GORE: Withering heat waves in Texas and in Florida, cities that are setting thousand-year records for high temperatures- how much more proof do we need that global warming is real? NARRATOR: And the future, some argue, could be apocalyptic, as ice caps melt and sea levels rise as much as 20 feet. DAN LASHOF, Natural Resources Defense Council: Over the last few years, you begin to get increased probability of extreme events. You're beginning to get a sense that these are happening more than they used to. And people are beginning to connect that with global warming. NARRATOR: Vice President Gore is so convinced humans are warming the planet, he advocated an international treaty committing America to drastically reduce emissions from oil, gas and coal. Burning these fossil fuels, he argues, puts greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which trap heat and warm the globe. His opponents object that the risks are exaggerated and any attempt to limit or get rid of oil, gas and coal -which provide 90 percent of our energy - will cause an economic apocalypse, from job losses to recession. FRED PALMER, Western Fuels Association, Inc.: This is the United States government identifying with a policy that would be devastating. What the long-term goal of