The sort of “sky is falling” reaction described here and in AGW circles is sort of like a societal allergic reaction.

There is a hypothesis, the Hygiene Hypothesis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis

that says that allergic reactions are caused by very powerful chemicals produced by our body to fight parasites. Unlike the other types of pathogens that our immune system fights – bacteria, viruses, and fungi – parasites can be very large (some tapeworms can reach dozens of feet in length). Our body has developed mechanisms for attacking these huge invaders, in particular specialized cells called mast cells.

The HH says that because the western world is so clean, when we’re children we don’t get exposed to the actual pathogens that our immune system is designed to attack. As a result, our immune system begins overreacting to non-pathogens (or mild pathogens), and the chemicals we release attack our own healthy tissue. This hypothesis is strongly supported by epidemiological evidence; for instance, there are many allergies that only exist in the developed world, and children born of parents who immigrate from the developing world are more prone to develop those allergies (showing that race or genetics doesn’t play as important a role).

So, living as we in the West do in the safest, healthiest, cleanest, most prosperous countries in the history of mankind, and having a generation of people who have never really experienced an existential threat, we now overreact to non-threats, and our societal antibodies attack our own healthy society.

By analogy, then, AGW is like pollen. I guess that makes Al Gore ragweed.

Praise the Lord and pass the Claritin.

L3