It is becoming increasingly certain that climate change will have serious negative effects on the environment in the years to come. Addressing this problem represents a serious challenge for policy makers. How we choose to respond to the threat of global warming is not simply a political question. It is also an economic and ethical question. Responsible and effective climate change policy requires consideration of a number of complex factors, including weighing the costs of implementing climate change policies against the benefits of more environmentally sustainable practices. Furthermore, this analysis must occur amid serious gaps in existing research and technology regarding developing climate conditions. For these reasons, global warming represents one of the most daunting political issues facing our world today. Added to this is the debate over the very existence of climate change. Although countless sources of empirical evidence testify to the real presence of climate change around the world, there is still considerable denial of the phenomenon. It has been argued that the evidence on climate change is a gross exaggeration or, in some cases, a complete falsification. Despite evidence to the contrary, many interest groups with considerable political clout have successfully perpetuated the thesis that documented changes in the environment are a product of natural cyclical changes in climate and are not associated with human activities. However, even the acceptance of this particular type of reality is not a reason to disdain environmental consciousness. Even if you accept the premise that recent climate change is not the result of human activity, the rationale behind environmental conservation remains... middle of paper... University. Network. December 2, 2011. .Kverndokk, Snorre and Adam Rose. Equity and justice in global warming policy. Working document no. 239.Vol. 80. Eni Enrico Mattei Foundation, 2008. Web. 27 November 2011. Nordhaus, William D. “Economic Aspects of Global Warming in a Post-Copenhagen Environment.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107.26 (2010): 11721-1726. Network. November 27, 2011. .Nordhaus, William. The challenge of global warming: economic models and environmental policy. New Haven: Yale University, 2007. Web. November 27, 2011. Rabe, Barry G. Statehouse and Greenhouse: The Emerging Politics of American Climate Change Policy. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 2004. 1-10. Network. December 2. 2011.