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Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
It is the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere which is most responsible for insulating the Earth, and slowing down the heat loss to a point where the temperature is livable.
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If you believe your own theory about CO2 driving global climate, you should really be worried that the CO2 level is as low as it is and temperatures are as low as they are.
Looking at the bigger picture, we're in a cold period Neil, even though on the short term (say 100,000 years) we're in a warmer period inbetween ice ages for all we can tell (nobody has a crystal ball).
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By changing the level of carbon dioxide rapidly by a significant amount greater than at any time during human existence or indeed higher than at any time in the past 650,000 years
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If you don't take into account the higher readings made in the early 1900's.
The CO2 data that didn't fit the theory.
Why limit the discussion to a period of known low CO2 levels ?
They have been higher for most of Earth's existence, as have the temperatures (call it correlation if you wish).
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We can look back at even earlier history to see what happened, and when, in relation to the carbon dioxide levels. At the point about 65 million years ago, when the island that became what we call India finished moving out of the southern hemisphere, and ran into the southern part of Asia -- the level of volcanic activity diminished, and the rate of weathering increased.
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The weathering traps CO2, and can (dangerously ?) lower it in the atmosphere.
It's been related to a period of severe global cooling : Snowball Earth - almost wiping out life on the planet.
Weren't you worrying about oceanic acidification ?
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Carbon dioxide was at about 1,000PPM at the point -- and there was no permanent ice anywhere on Earth, and it was essentially tropical everywhere on Earth
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And life thrived !
Earth supported high numbers of big creatures.
Why paint it as a bleak picture when clearly it wasn't ?
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When the people who know the most about the climate get very concerned, then we should all be very concerned, too.
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A lot of them who are concerned not about global warming, but about global warming advocacy.