The US has been called the “Saudi Arabia of coal.” The most obvious way for the US to have energy independence is to convert coal to liquid fuels, like Germany did during WWII. The AWG’ists hate this idea because coal produces much more carbon dioxide than other forms of energy. Hence AWG ideology could in fact act to maintain the US dependence on outside energy sources. By the way, historically speaking periods of relatively warm climate, such as the medieval optimum, have been good news, leading to population growth and the spread of civilized behavior. Periods of relatively cool climate have produced the opposite effects. As just one example of this, consider the rise and fall of the Viking colonies in Greenland. It is quite possible that a climate significantly warmer than today’s would have more pluses than minuses. After all, it is very easy to add up the costs of changes forced by warmer weather, which is what AWG alarmists always do, and very difficult to predict the new opportunities and easier ways of living that will come with a warmer temperatures.