When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a report Feb. 3 stating there is a 90 percent chance humans are causing global warming, it should not have come as a shock. With a mild winter and Lake Mendota freezing over almost a month later than average, the evidence of global warming in Madison is tangible. There should be little doubt that global warming does in fact exist, but the question now is what should we do to slow or stop it? In the State of the Union Address, President Bush said the United States is "on the verge of" having technologies that will decrease our dependence on oil and, as a result, reduce greenhouse gases. On a state level, Gov. Jim Doyle, in his State of the State Address, called the federal government's disregard for the issue a "disgrace" and pledged a $40 million investment in alternative energy sources. He also announced the formation of the Governor's Task Force on Global Warming to develop a comprehensive plan on combating its effects. Right now, there are fingers pointing from all sides: Scientists are angry at the federal government for interfering in the science of global warming, state governments are pinning the blame on federal government inaction and even other countries are pointing fingers at each other. While this debate may be necessary to find out who should be blamed, it does not begin to address the fact that the global temperature is rising and that the United States is the largest producer of greenhouse gases. There have been haphazard efforts to reduce emissions. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 offered tax credits for measures purchasing hybrid cars, installing solar panels and installing energy-efficient hot water boilers. The Wisconsin Energy Corporation reported that emissions decreased slightly from 2004 to 2005 despite a 1 percent increase in electricity generation, due in part to increased energy efficiency and conservation as well as increasing wind capacity. Tax incentives may have been a contributing factor in a 26.6 percent jump in sales of hybrid cars in 2006, and the Wisconsin Energy Company is making a concerted effort to decrease its emissions. Lawmakers may battle it out in congressional hearings about who should be held responsible, but without enacting a real policy to slow the effects of global warming, little can be done to stop the first signs of global warming from becoming problems that may be too developed to solve. There are simple things that we can do as individuals to help the environment and slow global warming, such as riding the bus around campus instead of driving. Even better, we could walk to campus or ride a bike. We could install energy-efficient light bulbs and make sure to turn them off when we are not using them. Our landlords could install higher-quality windows and patio doors so that we do not waste as much electricity on heat. We could reuse and then recycle our grocery bags or get paper bags instead of plastic. These small efforts that we can and should be doing require small sacrifices. Most are painless and can even be beneficial to us, such as getting a small work-out walking up Bascom Hill instead of taking a mo-ped up Observatory Drive. But these individual efforts, however noble they may be, are likely not enough to stop the overall global force of climate change. Gov. Doyle aspires to make our state a leader in combating global warming, and policies enacted in Wisconsin could become the model for the whole country. While developing a task force is well-intentioned, the fact remains that little will be done until the task force makes a plan. Even then, nothing will be done about this problem in the state until the plan is carried out successfully and the federal government follows suit. Global warming is a challenging issue because it is difficult to see on a day-to-day basis. When we do see it in the form of a warm winter, a cold streak can wipe out all notions that the planet is warming. Less than three weeks ago, our city's lakes were still not frozen over. Now, our primary concern is not getting frostbite on the way to class. Global warming is bigger than individuals, a city and even a state. Wisconsin finally may be taking a serious look at something that will be catastrophe once we are all gone, but looking at the problem is only one step. The true challenge will be for the state and country to enact a comprehensive plan for controlling climate change before it is too late. Jeff Carnes ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in linguistics.