Global Warming - Irreversable damage?

The earth is getting warmer. Greenhouse gasses are increasing in the atmosphere and, while these gasses are a natural phenomenon, the level in which they are appearing are not.
According to the EPA's web site, an “unequivocal” warming trend of about 1.0 to 1.7°F occurred from 1906-2005. Warming occurred in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and over the oceans.
This is caused by the build up of greenhouse gasses, the atmospheric buildup of CO2 and other gases. It is largely the result of human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.
The major greenhouse gases emitted by human activities remain in the atmosphere for periods ranging from decades to centuries. It is therefore virtually certain that atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will continue to rise over the next few decades.
This increase in gasses creates heat and warms the planet.
All of these facts are from the Environmental Protection Agency. They come strait from a study done in 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
While over-politicized in the past few years, global warming definitely is a viable threat. If this heating trend continues, ice caps will melt, flooding the continents - among other things.
According to the EPA, the United States is committed to reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of the American economy by 18 percent over the 10-year period from 2002 to 2012. This initiative puts America on a path to slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, and -- as the science supports -- to stop, and then reverse that growth.
Greenhouse gas intensity is the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to economic output. The U.S. goal is to lower emissions from an estimated 183 metric tons per million dollars of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2002, to 151 metric tons per million dollars of GDP in 2012. The U.S. commitment will achieve 100 million metric tons of reduced emissions in 2012 alone, with more than 500 million metric tons in cumulative savings over the entire decade. The policy focuses on reducing emissions through technology improvements and dissemination, improving the efficiency of energy use, voluntary programs with industry and shifts to cleaner fuels.
The intensity-based approach promotes near-term opportunities (e.g. voluntary programs and partnerships) to conserve fossil fuel, recover methane and sequester carbon. These programs encourage the adoption of existing technologies, energy efficiency improvements and renewable resources to reduce emissions cost-effectively. In the longer term, development and deployment of breakthrough technology will provide safe and reliable energy to fuel our economy with reduced or no greenhouse gas emissions.
While these plans are indeed a step in the right direction, none of them with be worth anything if people do not band together and pitch in to stave off the gasses we are creating.