We have a lot of problems, but too many scientists aren't among them. If anything, the problem we have in the west is nobody really pursues the physical sciences anymore...go to the grad depts at major institutions and see how many students from the ME and Asia are found compared to native westerners. We're falling behind the Chinese in a big hurry re: engineering and physical sciences.
Tu, I'm with you on conservation (I make my own diesel fuel from veggie oil, and would love to find an aviation application)--if we drove more efficient vehicles, we wouldn't have to worry nearly as much about what the Saddam Husseins of the world were up to. But if you need further convincing, I suggest you
start here and consider the nuts and bolts of the science behind GHGs as climate forcings (and you'll note nothing in the CRU illegally obtained emails really impacts any of the basic premises in any substantial way, even if we were to assume the worst...and in context the emails people are wailing about don't really mean what they think they mean). The science is largely incontrovertible upon even a cursory examination, and even if we hoist out on their petards the two or three scientists referenced in the ILLEGALLY hacked emails and CRU's entire database, the conclusions aren't effected substantially (the NASA GISSTEMP data sets largely corroborate their findings)...the IPCC conclusions are, from a scientific point of view, utterly sound. Those objecting typically have a political motive somewhat akin to "well, I don't want to have to change any of my behaviors in any substantive way".
I do like pulling up at a stoplight in my F350 4x4 Powerstroke diesel running on veggie fuel and seeing smug looks from the weenie in the Prius; little does he know I'm far more carbon neutral than he is.