to chiefshmerel: The harm clearly done by fossil fuels is various forms of pollution, and they took steps to fix it once it was realized what the cause of (that’s why we no longer have people dropping dead in the streets for toxic smog, which was often the case a century ago). Whether fossil fuels significantly cause temperatures to rise a debateable, along with whether a rising temperature is such a bad thing (e.g. growing seasons, less snow and ice, etc.). One should also remember that without fossil fuels we would be cold in winter, hot in summer, unable to travel long distances, commuting would again be done by walking, and our choice of goods would be sharply limited. Like it or not, fossil fuels is why our quality of life is higher than it was as recently as two centuries ago and if the price to pay is giving up March and November snowfalls, that seems reasonable.
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