I am also optimistic for this reason, too. In the 1980's, I had nightmares about a nuclear armageddon. We were told that by the time we were teenagers we woul

I am also optimistic for this reason, too. In the 1980's, I had nightmares about a nuclear armageddon. We were told that by the time we were teenagers we would no longer be able to play outside: because of ozone depletion, air pollution, and acid rain. In the 1990's, we were told modern society would collapse because we would literally run out of oil. We were told that 20% of us would die from AIDS. Don't mistake me - these threats were real, not imagined, but based completely on static trajectories. We countered these problems by changing behaviors, changing laws, and innovating. The threat of runaway climate change may be greater than these threats, but we have shown a remarkable ability to effect change on those things that the experts told us were unchangeable.