But such is the current fascination with global warming that the words 'climate change' are starting to have the same effect.

However, is a society obsessed with an issue able to effectively judge the best response to the problem?

As one colleague put it, the situation is, at least in part, reminiscent of the millenia bug when daily news articles prompted near mass hysteria and billions of dollars being spent to solve what was thought to be a global problem.

While we are yet to find out whether climate change forecasts are as uncertain as the Y2K phenomena, there are plenty of people who suspect that may be the case.

However, it seems the vast majority of people accept the need for drastic action by government to do something about the problem, but the solutions on offer are clearly causing headaches for everyone involved.

While one of the world's best-known economists, Jeffrey Sachs, has warned Australia against using an emissions trading scheme, his advice came a little too late for Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson who last week flagged similar concerns.

Dr Nelson's problem, though, is that he couldn't convince his own party, nor even himself, of these concerns and his consistently inconsistent messages left him looking like both Arthur and Martha.

That's not to say life is any easier for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has proved adept at managing the media cycle to exploit this public fascination with the topic, but he knows full well the hard part is still to come.

Will everyone still be so eager to read climate change stories when their power, fuel and food prices soar under an emissions trading scheme?

As one poll found last week, Australians want to do their bit, provided it doesn't cost them in doing so - it's a bit like our preference for watching rather than playing footy for our sport-loving, binge-drinking, obese nation.

Clearly, not a helpful situation for a Government trying to find a solution - let's just hope it isn't tilting at Y2K windmills.