Global Climate Change: The Economic Costs of Mitigation and Adaptation

Bacteria in a test tube and humans on our planet follow the same population curve as time elapses. We on this earth, largely through control of disease, are rapidly ap­ proaching maximum population, and through energy demands are using up our resour­ ces and accumulating wastes. We have come to realize the danger of a maturing system but have made essential­ ly no impact in mitigating or preventing the problems we face. While we have been able to change the world we live in, most of our effects have been to degrade the planet. We have nibbled away at the quality of the atmosphere for centuries and the ac­ cumulated damage has resulted in changing the world's climate at an ever-increasing rate. We now face the possibility of higher average temperatures over most of our planet, changing patterns of rainfall, rising sea levels, aggravated storm systems and a myriad of social effects.