Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.

Apparently that goes double for climate.

Even the optimists didn’t expect that 192-nation global warming pow-wow in Copenhagen to produce much more than hot air. It’s not over yet, but it’s already obvious that the stormy forecast was right on target.

The stack of newspaper clippings next to my reading chair is dominated by global warming stuff, but very little is new. While I’ve learned little or nothing, some of my old information and impressions have been clarified. And my original stance from the 1980s hasn’t changed.

There is really very little debate about global warming, per se. The big brouhaha is about whether it’s man-made or natural. (See note, below.)

And frankly, my dear, I don’t give a care. The world is going to be vastly changed in either case. Most of the din in Denmark has involved economics, with poor nations lining up against the rich. As weather patterns change, floods and droughts increase, sea levels rise, the tensions can only increase, and it won’t matter who’s to blame.

And the economics within the rich countries? Whooee! Trading your smokestack and vehicle emissions for my tree-planting won’t even be in the picture. How will the already fragile world economy deal with the “increased costs of doing business?”

Of course, as we’ve been saying for many years, the costs won’t increase at all: they’ve always been there, but they didn’t show up on the books because they didn’t involve dollars and cents — at that time. Air pollution and other quality of life factors didn’t count. And of course water pollution and waste, the whole energy sector even aside from the carbon aspects, soil loss and degradation — almost everything we homesteaders have been passionate about since our resurgence in the ’60s and ’70s — are all part of the same picture. The chickens are coming home to roost, at last.

This is nothing to cheer about, of course. On the other hand, there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that our homestead philosophy and principles have been on the mark all along. Now the rest of the world has to catch up. For many, it won’t be voluntary. Just as with the current ongoing economic plight, they won’t understand what’s happening or why, they won’t know how to adapt, and they won’t be happy. Many will try to turn back the clock to “the good old days” of constantly rising stock market and real estate prices and all the rest. But those days are kaput, or soon will be.

If this line of thought is new to you, I suggest you read my latest book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Self-Sufficient Living, which is now on sale. However, if you look for it at Border’s, don’t be surprised to find it in the “Household Reference” section. This only shows that even book publishers and sellers still don’t have a clue. No wonder so few people know what’s going on.

Note: The Dec. 7 Wall Street Journal had an excellent article titled “What Global Warming? A look at the arguments skeptics make — and how believers respond.” While the skeptics say scientists are in sharp disagreement, “In a recent survey of more than 3,000 Earth scientists, 82% agreed that human activity is a ‘significant contributing factor’ in changing global temperatures. Specialists were in greater agreement: 75 of the 79 climate scientists who actively publish in the field — about 97% — agreed with the statement.”