I think the public would take pleas from the academic community for climate change "action" more seriously if the pleas didn't constantly involve pleas for money and research, but instead involved pleas for energy conservation measures that would slightly inconvenience the academics as well as the general public.
Example: "Action" measures like reinstating the national 55 mph speed limit in order to simply and immediately cut gasoline consumption and associated tailpipe / greenhouse gas emissions by 20-25% (as compared to a 70 MPH speed limit). I suggested this "action" measure several months ago and even ExxonMobil appears to support it http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/4af/exxon.jpg but relatively few people on this professional ecology listserv were enthusiastically in favor of it. Paul Cherubini
