Regardless of what's going on with the climate, there are a few fairly well-established truths:
- Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.
- Carbon dioxide is a trace constituent of the atmosphere.
- Human civilization has reached a point where we can artificially influence the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
It's pretty simple to me: all other things being equal, as carbon dioxide goes up, the overall climate will warm due to the increased strength of the greenhouse effect. Yes, there is variance from year-to-year, but we're usually too short-sighted and can't realize that true climate change is a very long-term process.
In the battle pitting man versus nature, nature usually wins. Why should man be so arrogant as to artificially modify the planet that we live on? Shouldn't we all be good stewards and try to leave as little of a footprint as possible?