[matthewdgreen]

It might also be the case that we have no choice but to do this. I'd rather the research get done now, before that (potentially) happens.

I think the fact that the scientific community is writing these letters should also be interpreted as a data-point indicating that this point is close, perhaps even behind us.

[nickff]

But it isn't "[the scientific community [...] writing these letters", it's a few scientists. There are a wide spectrum of beliefs within the scientific community, each holding a set of beliefs about where we are, and a separate set of beliefs about what should be done.

[Turing_Machine]

Yes. The standard strategy when there's a "wide spectrum of beliefs" is to do research. And?