Science Forums 2

[Moontanman]

Originally Posted by InfiniteNow

Right, but noboby has ever claimed that it was. Also, would you please provide a cite that shows that the climate of the earth would, in fact, at this moment in history, be trending upward even in the absence of anthropogenic contributions of CO₂ to the atmosphere?


IIRC, we should be experiencing a cooling right now, which is why I've challenged your comment above.

Infi I cannot pretend to say absolutely we would be in a warming trend right now if indeed humans weren't releasing CO2. It is probable seeing how periods of cool are shorter than periods of warm and this period of cool has been around for a long time. The end of the last ice age marks the start of a warming trend that continues today. 10 to 20 thousand years ago I don't think humans were doing anything that would be seen as contributing to global warming, if we were then we are doomed because we will never be able to go back to that point. If teh current warming trend is due to humanity and not a natural warming then we are almost certinly preventing another ice age, I think this is improbable. If you compare periods of cool with periods of warm we should indeed be getting warmer very soon if not already but it is a gradual process and not well understood. Volcanism and biology would seem to be the controlling factors in this warm cool cycle and we really don't know how much of each is needed to turn a trend around. I just think it's wrong to say that humanity is some how in control of the earths climate. We are a factor but ultimately we will not be the deciding factor. If indeed the Earth is in an upward trend then it becomes even more important that we cut any contribution we are making. The earth is quite capable of becoming much hotter then it is now with out our help.