Data - Do Politicians Really Understand?

EaglemanBSA writes: It's not cutting-edge news that Al Gore has been ringing the environmental 'fire-bell' (example) on what many see as a significant turn for the worse in terms of climate change. As we've seen in the past, many of our legislators don't quite understand the concepts they're formulating legislation about (see Ted Stevens).My question is this: Do you think our politicians really understand the data in the global warming case enough to make a decision that will dictate multi-billion dollar energy policy? If not, what can we do to make a difference?