Perspective: 1863

But if we take the case of a physical catastrophe, over which man has no control at all, such, for instance, as an earthquake, it may be remarked, that one of the severest on record, namely, that which desolated the Neapolitan provinces in 1858, swept away only about 20,000 persons in all the different places which lay in its path, whereas the present war in America, even if it were brought to a speedy issue, will have cost the lives of half a million of the human race.

--From Climate: an inquiry into the causes of its differences...--

We could wipe out billions of people in the blink of an eye, we will be able to for the foreseeable future, and politicians worry about secondary or tertiary problems which may never materialize, or may even turn out to be blessings!