The sources, affects and solutions for climate change were debated in a panel discussion Tuesday night in the Gerdin Auditorium. The panel consisted of Gene Takle, interim director of agronomy and geological and atmospheric sciences, John Miranowski, professor of agricultural economics and director of the Institute of Science and Society, and Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science.

Questions included the progression of pubic opinion and governmental methods controlling climate change, public or governmental regulation of greenhouse gases, political relations between differing countries of the world and the cost and benefit analysis of the world taking action against greenhouse gases now.

The panelists agreed that if the world takes action against climate change now, there won’t be visible effects for 40 or 50 years.

“People don’t believe scientists or politicians about climate change,” he said. “They have a hard time believing humans are the cause of climate change.”

Schmidt said other developing countries are having a hard time making the change to better conservation policies for a variety of reasons, but mainly they are economic, regulation of public behavior and emerging or existing technologies.

Takle said market-based solutions can be the answer to climate change, saying such policies as caps on emissions and trading of CO2 credits or higher taxes and subsidies on industries could be a more realistic answer.

“Taxes and subsides are where people change prices and scarcer sources are where you can see impacts [on climate change],” Takle said. “Biofuels are not a silver bullet. There are no silver bullets in climate change.”

Miranowski said if we don’t take action now, then the situation may become worse.

“In the long term, there could be adverse effects on not taking action. Its not who the winners and losers are, but how they can adapt,” Miranowski said.