Sammie, sorry it took me so long to respond to you. I thought this was sewn up.

The answer to your statement is very simple. Climate has been changing through natural sources since the beginning of earth time - you are absolutely correct. The difference is that such changes take place over very long periods of time. There are simply no natural causes that could change the earth's temperature as fast as it has changed since the Industrial Revolution began 100 years ago, and certainly not for the last 50-80 years. Climate change from natural causes of the magnitude that has taken place in that time period can only be explained by unnatural causes. And that is why to me it is so ludicrous, in examining these changes, for anyone with even an elementary education in the appropriate sciences to think otherwise.

I hope that this explains it. Please don't make the same silly mistake again. It is an easy trap to fall in to. "Well, climate has been changing since the beginning of time!". Not this fast it hasn't. And, to reiterate, there is no natural cause or combination of causes that could do it. None. Nada.

Let's look at things other than temperature directly. The earth’s ice sheets have expanded and contracted over the last three million years. We know pretty much that this happens in natural intervals of about 100,000 years or so. In fact, we started moving out of the last ice age about 20,000 years ago. See the time intervals that we are talking about from natural causes? Guess what? The rapid loss of Arctic ice these days cannot at all be explained by natural causes, and not even by the release of carbon dioxide and methane naturally through the ocean's warming, nor by the loss of the reflective capability of the permafrost that has been lost. However, I think that I am talking beyond what you have studied if you feel that natural causes only have changed the climate in the last 100 years or so.   I just want you to understand that the speed of the recent changes is unparalleled in the earth's history, and cannot at all be explained by natural phenomena, but can be explained by man-made phenomena in addition to natural causes.

Perstare et praestare. Per aspera ad astra.

Last Edited By: Florida Jeff 03/28/12 9:30 PM. Edited 1 times.