Is Climate Change Irreversible?

Just as President Obama cracks down on climate change, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research have issued discouraging new findings. This new “wake-up call” says that if carbon dioxide levels were cut back to pre-industrial levels, it would still take 1000 years to reverse the climate change that's already happened. Does that mean the effort is not worth the trouble, or that it's time to get serious before it's really too late? Can new, innovative technology make a difference? Is it contradictory to beef up production and consumer consumption at the same time greenhouse gases are being reduced? Is the real problem too many people?