the crux of the matter

The crux of the Planetarian position is that we should implement policies that our descendants, looking back from a distance of two or three centuries, would be grateful for.  In many cases, it's probably impossible to know what such policies would be.  In the case of global warming, however, isn't it obvious that they would want us to ameliorate it as much as possible?  Now, how should we go about doing that?

descendants

Comment:

Environmental policy should be based on this consideration: that people two or three centuries from now will look back on us and say, 'Thank God they did what they did. They saved us.'