We are currently in an interglacial period within the Quaternary ice age. The factors that drive global temperatures over time are:

- solar energy output which increases approximately at the rate of 9% per billion years but which is variable around this
- orbital forcing, periodic changes in the Earth's orbit in two cycles ("Milankovitch cycles" of about 41,000 and 100,000 years
- density of gas and dust in the space between the Earth and the Sun, which is mostly driven by the Earth's proximity to the galactic plane where gas and dust are densest; this follows a cycle of about 33 million years and is also a factor in the disruption of the Oort cloud, producing temporary increases in comet flux
- the quantities in the atmosphere of gases which cause heat retention ("greenhouse effect", which include carbon dioxide, methane and water. Sources of these include vulcanism (the rate of which varies), absorbtion and release of gases by rocks and vegetation ("sinks", human activity, biological processes, evaporation of sea water
- the quantity of ice and snow on the surface of the Earth, which reflects sunlight and reduces the heating effect of insolation
- the distribution of landmass over the surface, which increases or decreases the flow of ocean water between polar and tropical regions, and which follows the approximately 400-million year Wilson cycle between widely distributed continents (as now) and a single supercontinent (Rodinia, Pangaea, etc).

Notice that some of these mechanisms are feedback cycles which serve to amplify effects. For example, if the earth cools, there is more snow and ice, which reflects sunlight, so the earth cools further. Conversely, if the earth warms up, water evaporates from the oceans, and this is a greenhouse gas.

The current ice age has been going on for about 2.5 million years. The present interglacial has been going on for about 12,000 years. Within the present interglacial there have been a number of climate changes, in some cases abrupt, and before the rise of industry. Some may have been caused by man's agricultural, rather than industrial, activities. Others are certainly attributable to vulcanism. Current rises in carbon dioxide concentration began before industrialisation, may be driven by temperature changes rather than being their cause, and are one part of one factor in the complex and chaotic systems that drive changes in local and global climates over time. For example, Edward Whymper in his works about Alpine mountaineering in the 1860s notes sharp reductions in the extent of Alpine glaciation between the 18th and 19th centuries.

Most people who do x, y, and z because of "global warming" do not understand that they are living in an ice age, or what that means.

Edited by chateauferret (07 Jan 2017 10.33pm)

We are currently in an interglacial period within the Quaternary ice age. The factors that drive global temperatures over time are:

- solar energy output which increases approximately at the rate of 9% per billion years but which is variable around this
- orbital forcing, periodic changes in the Earth's orbit in two cycles ("Milankovitch cycles" of about 41,000 and 100,000 years
- density of gas and dust in the space between the Earth and the Sun, which is mostly driven by the Earth's proximity to the galactic plane where gas and dust are densest; this follows a cycle of about 33 million years and is also a factor in the disruption of the Oort cloud, producing temporary increases in comet flux
- the quantities in the atmosphere of gases which cause heat retention ("greenhouse effect", which include carbon dioxide, methane and water. Sources of these include vulcanism (the rate of which varies), absorbtion and release of gases by rocks and vegetation ("sinks", human activity, biological processes, evaporation of sea water
- the quantity of ice and snow on the surface of the Earth, which reflects sunlight and reduces the heating effect of insolation
- the distribution of landmass over the surface, which increases or decreases the flow of ocean water between polar and tropical regions, and which follows the approximately 400-million year Wilson cycle between widely distributed continents (as now) and a single supercontinent (Rodinia, Pangaea, etc).

Notice that some of these mechanisms are feedback cycles which serve to amplify effects. For example, if the earth cools, there is more snow and ice, which reflects sunlight, so the earth cools further. Conversely, if the earth warms up, water evaporates from the oceans, and this is a greenhouse gas.

The current ice age has been going on for about 2.5 million years. The present interglacial has been going on for about 12,000 years. Within the present interglacial there have been a number of climate changes, in some cases abrupt, and before the rise of industry. Some may have been caused by man's agricultural, rather than industrial, activities. Others are certainly attributable to vulcanism. Current rises in carbon dioxide concentration began before industrialisation, may be driven by temperature changes rather than being their cause, and are one part of one factor in the complex and chaotic systems that drive changes in local and global climates over time. For example, Edward Whymper in his works about Alpine mountaineering in the 1860s notes sharp reductions in the extent of Alpine glaciation between the 18th and 19th centuries.

Most people who do x, y, and z because of "global warming" do not understand that they are living in an ice age, or what that means.

Edited by chateauferret (07 Jan 2017 10.33pm)

I'd say we are more likely to accelerate the destruction of our own race way before our own planet.

I think the two are related and when we decide to take better care of the planet we will take better care of each other and as long as we continue fighting and destroying each other we'll do the same to the planet.