Global Warming... the debate continues

Throughout the 90's and into this decade the government relied on "scientific studies" to help combat smog and emissions in the summer that said we needed to oxygenate the gasoline to help it burn more completely. The EPA followed the suggestions of those scientists who recommended adding methyl tertiary-butyl ether. The unintended consequences of that action were to cause a horrendous increase in cases of juvenile asthma. It also restricted the elderly or others with respiratory illnesses from outdoor activities. It poisoned countless water sources (aquifers and drinking wells) because the MTBE degraded plastic and rubber causing many subterranean leaks at gas stations and refineries/storage facilities. MTBE also caused fuel lines in cars to degrade and leak which may have led to deaths, and certainly led to property damage. And I would guess a smokey car fire is not good for the environment either.

It took several years after the hazards of MTBE were identified before the states began threatening the federal government with lawsuits if MTBE was not removed from the summer gasoline. The states could not simply discontinue using it since they would not receive federal highway funding unless they complied. The government finally caved in and gave up on MTBE.
The reason it is vital to identify the actual causes of the man made element of global warming so we can address the real cause and not the perceived causes. Scientists are still torn as to whether the man made component is carbon dioxide and the other green house gasses, VOCs, CFCs and gasses that effect the ozone, or particulates that settles on glaciers and on snow caps causing it to melt faster as the contaminated snow is slightly discolored causing it to absorb the sunlight instead of reflecting it like pure white snow. It could also be caused by drastic deforestation or heavy industrialization. It may even be a combination of several, or all of these factors.

I am not denying global warming... the earth has been naturally warming since the last ice age, with several dramatic colling and heating periods in between. I am not denying that there is a human element increasing the effect. But unless we identify what the problem is we will not know how to properly address the issues at hand.

I liken it to a mental disease. It is easy to say someone is crazy. But without diagnosing the precise causes of the disorder any random attempts at improving the situation may actually aggravate it. A precise dose of lithium can be therapeutic to a patient with bipolar disorder, but it can have a debilitating effect on someone with another disorder, such as ADHD.
So first the scientists have to say humans are not the sole cause of global warming and acknowledge it is a natural phenomenon. Then they have to identify the elements that are causing the human impact on global warming. But as long as they keep blaming humans in general, and the US specifically, as the cause of the global warming they will be met with more than just skepticism, it affects their entire credibility.