[BadAndy]

"We're spewing out CO2 and cutting down the forests that soak it back up. CO2 is increasing. CO2 acts as a greenhouse. The temperature has gone up. Thus .

Actually we (US) are not cutting down much forest. Furthermore, more carbon is soaked up after the forest is cut down since new growth uses more carbon than old growth. There was also a recent article that suggested that forests actually contribute to warming.
IMO, there are the 3 uncertainties about global warming.
1. Is the planet getting warmer?
2. If it is warming, is man responsible?
3. If #1 is true, is it good or bad?

[festus]

3. If #1 is true, is it good or bad?

I say its good because most of the liberal mecca's are in low lying costal regions which will be flooded by the rising water when all the snow caps melt.

[firebrand]

I was using "we" to mean "we inhabitants of the planet." And most of the forest (rainforest) area that is being cut down is being used for cattle, not new forest growth.

I agree that your three questions are three of the questions that have to be asked. Others might be: (4) Can we undo the damage that has been done? (5) Can we stop doing more damage?

Re (3): I think the short-term effects have to be bad, because we don't have time to adjust to them. Some of the food crops that the world depends on have decreased yields as the temperature rises, to cite one of the more dangerous results.