Climate Skeptics versus the "Scientific Consensus"

The best summary of these opposing views is at:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yhh534j
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It is clear that there is much to be said on both sides. The truth may lie somewhere between these extremes of opinion. Perhaps human actions have made only a marginal difference and will make only a marginal difference.

So why do I eventually line up with the "Scientific Consensus"?

Because if the Skeptics are right, we need to do nothing - and nothing we do can possibly affect the outcome - which will be benign or devastating for reasons outside our control. The Skeptics are modern fatalists. Whatever will be will be.

The "Scientific Consensus" may or may not turn out to be right. No one knows. There are many imponderables. But at least these Consensus guys are not fatalists. They tell me that my actions, or at least OUR actions as a human race, have made a difference in the past and can make a difference in the future.

Even if they are more wrong than the Skeptics, I would prefer to cast my lot with the Consensus because at least then I will have done the right things in terms of environmental care, even if the actions concerned make very little difference to the eventual outcome.

The question is not what effect our actions might or might not have. The question is: what is the right thing to do. And the right thing to do is certainly to act in a manner that lines up with environmental responsibility.