Clueless academic folks on "the world disaster we know is looming"

Check out the article and comments here, and note that almost everyone involved seems to have completely swallowed the "impending CO2-induced catastrophe" story.

Excerpts from that page:

Some of the financial and career rewards given to faculty and administrators who amass travel invitations could be transferred to those who innovate to tackle global warming.
...
I think universities could play two more significant roles in reducing global warming:

First, they could consider this far more intensively in their development and building. Here on our campus a new administration building went up two years ago. I tried to argue for a solar component, to make the building generate its own energy at least in part, and was shot down on expense grounds. I found this unbelievably short-sighted, since in twenty years I anticipate other energy costs will be astronomical. I also think that expense is warranted given the planetary predicament. What a beacon the universities could be if they became not merely energy efficient but self-sustaining, premised on renewable resources.

Second, universities and their faculties have a vital role to play in educating the public. Americans are simply not all on the same page as the New York Times, Al Gore, and the scientific consensus. My students here — and I’m sure they’re not unique — still are full of jokes about global warming when the subject arises that indicate their lack of registering its full significance. Some of them show irresponsibility (it only matters for future generations, not ours) or denial (it’s not linked to CO2 emissions or any human endeavor). Others, of course, are aware and concerned, and a few are active, but... we have a surprisingly long way to go and as educational institutions, universities have a key role in education on this cardinal issue.