If that lag is what is causing global warming to level out during the first part of 2008, then we should know pretty soon. Either the Earth will resume the warming trend, and the naysayers will have egg on their faces, or it will not resume the warming trend, the Earth will return to historic normals of the past decades, and the global warming scientists will have egg on their faces.
Either way, the best course of action is to continue to study the situation and make the best predictions we can. If the scientific community is right, and anthropogenic climate change is happening, it is not likely that we can reverse it anyway. We'd best be prepared for whatever happens:
Global disaster ala Gore?
Egg on the faces of climatologists?
Global climate change that is a mixed bag of benefit and detriment?
Personally, I'm betting on the third possibility, just playing the odds. It would be a good idea to know, at least in broad terms, just what changes are likely to take place.
