So we moved on to global warming. It remains just a theory, however, since climate change is a complex business. Indeed, there is no one right temperature. After all, there was once an ice age. If we could choose, we should choose a warmer climate.
Fewer people die in the cold, less money is spent on energy, growing seasons are longer.
The real issue, then is whether the Earth faces an uncontrolled catastrophic increase in average temperatures. Unfortunately, the debate has become highly political. To avert the risk we need to get some broad-based support, to capture public imagination. So we have to offer up some scary scenarios make some simplified dramatic statements and little mention of any doubts one might have. So much for genuine scientific discourse.