Al Gore's mid-2000s crusade was the absolute worst thing that ever happened with respect to addressing the very real threat of global warming. He is a polarizing politician (and a douchebag in my personal opinion), and he turned global warming into a left/right issue.
In addition, there are indeed alarmists (some with a political agenda, some without), whose predictions have failed to materialize for one reason or another and as a result have understandably sowed the seeds of doubt.
There's also the issue of the mainstream media's lack of credibility. They've shown time and time again that they can't be trusted. The fact that they're fully on board the global warming wagon further sows the seeds of doubt (and understandably so).
I'll also admit it's true there are leftists who want to use the need to address global warming as a way to backdoor more government and global government. I won't deny that. But that's just one more reason why conservatives need to take off their ideological glasses, acknowledge the threat, and help to craft a bipartisan plan of attack.
But the issue has become too polarized, so I have no hope that collective action will ever happen. The only slim hope lies with the market-driven development of a carbon sequestration technology. But even if that technology is fully developed there will still be political questions regarding how, where, and when it should be used. And the fact is that most people HATE winter and want a warmer planet. SO, basically, skiers are screwed.
