Dear Reader,

I could not help, but to see inequities in the statements being made by many in authority. I suspect they have gotten their misinformation on climate from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). The NOAA is a fine organization populated with good hardworking individuals. I'm sure they try to do the best job they can. The fly in the oinment is they are trying to do their work with one hand tied behind their backs. I have talked to Paleo-climatologists at NOAA and they have told me that by the Charter of their organization as set-up by Congress they can only look one hundred years into the future in ten year increments. This does not apply to you, Reader. You are not held by this restriction. Being scholarly, you are held to a higher due diligence then to just slavishly follow anyone. The scientists at NOAA, because of their Charter, must look at one twig and summarize the health of the forest. Climatic outcome, I am afraid, is by and far out of our puny hands. Alas, another center of the universe theory shot to hell. I will endeavor to give you a concise picture of what is often left out. There have been two great glaciations and one minor one in recent history (the last billion years), of the great glaciations: one lasted 200 million years the other 100 million years, and the minor one lasted a short 30 million years. The evidence points to the fact that irregardless of human activity we could very well be only 8 million years into either a 30 million year or a 100 million year period of glaciations. The believed rise in temps inbetween each glaciation would normally equal an additional 2 to 4 degree Celsius rise in average daily temperatures. We are only in an inter-glacial period that will last 10 to 40 thousand years. The reason for the warming(well documented)has much to do with orbital mechanics, not humans. You should know that the earth will have many more glaciations before the current ice epoch is over. When the ice epoch is over the earth will likely go back to its normal temp, its balmy +5 to 6 degrees Celsius higher than even todays daily temps, in 20 to 90 million years(not to worry, the atmosphere won't boil off. The oceans will just rise 200 feet, absorbing the heat and expanding, to compensate). Humans have no control over these events. We are just along for the ride.What causes these fluctuations is as yet unknown, but with 150 million years between ice epochs(average),It is likely something huge, some process other than orbital mechanics or humans. There are several theories.Theory one: the rise of mountain ranges and the carbon cycle and how they interact(Large mountain ranges tend change weather patterns and breaking-down rock takes alot of carbon dioxide).Theory two: slow waxing & waning of our solar furnace and/or passing through nebulae Theory three: the rise of internal heat and the spreading of new sea floor(This is the idea that:new sea floor is hotter and likewise lighter and therefore rides higher on the mantle. To be specific the Pacific is of an average depth of 3 miles as opposed to the Atlantic being only 2 miles on average deep.If after the Pacific ocean is closed by the meeting of North America and Asia , the Alantic is of an average depth of 2.65 miles deep,well you catch my continental drift. This would mean that over time the oceans would rise 400 to 600 feet; which would mean more circulation of ocean currents;more rainfall; more weathering of mountains; which would mean more air circulation and less exposed rock; the less exposed rock means more free carbon dioxide; this means more greenhouse gases; much more; which means a swamp from pole to pole(ie: your basic Water-World). You can look for the basic mountainless "look" coming to a continent near you in about 300 million years). There are many minor theories as well.The idea here is, though we want to be CAUSE, it is highly unlikely that we are. In the ice epoch between 800 and 600 million years ago not one ounce of carbon had as yet been laid down by dying vegetation as in the carboniferous age's large scale coal deposits. This carbon was still in free form and yet there was a great ice epoch. In the Permian ice epoch not one ounce of carbon had as yet been laid down in future oil deposits and yet there was an ice epoch that destroyed 90% of existing species. In the face of these facts, it is hard to believe that the addition or subtraction of minor amounts of carbon are forcing nature's hand. The dynamics of our planet are so much bigger than we suspect. The fact that we fret so over climatic change, which is inevitable,is more telling of the fact that we have overpopulated our enviroment to the point where were the climate to change adversely human kind would be the whipping-boy for that eventuality.In earnest, we have set ourselves up. It would have been a much richer world had we made a conscious effort to keep our population down to let us say 200 million people,imagine the resources that would be available to each newborn child in a world so sparsely populated.Even the poorest person would have 30 time as much as he now enjoys and even big changes in climate could be dealt with easily. At that enviable time, What a wonderful world it will be.My thoughts to you, enjoy. I only ask that on the subject of Paleoclimatology and Future Climatic Outcomes (and having more children), that you do your due diligence as scholars would . There are many interesting papers written on the reasons for the climate we have enjoyed, do now enjoy, and will enjoy, but because of the way NOAA's charter is written you won't be reading them at their site.