Regardless of how one might feel about the science of climate change, the prevailing public perception is that climate change is real and that humanity's use of fossil fuels is the primary cause. At this juncture, the finer points of the debate (i.e., planetary cycles versus man-made carbon emissions) are being drowned out by the waves of media coverage about shrinking polar ice caps, breakaway ice fields, and the addition of polar bears to the endangered species list. So, for all practical purposes, climate change is now a political reality.