Consider the perverse effect cap and trade has on altruistic actions. Say you decide to buy a small high-efficiency car. That reduces your emissions but not your country's. Instead it allows somebody else to buy a bigger S.U.V. - because the total emissions are set by the cap.
People ask me what the most important thing to take on the race is and I always say it's a sense of humor. If you've got nothing but a sense of humor you will survive.