Originally Posted by TeaSea

It wouldn't have to end if it could evolve.
As it started out, it was all about supply and demand. Then, especially as a result of television, it evolved into something more like supply, demand and creation of more demand. Since misrepresentation can be such an irresistably powerful tool in creating demand, government had to get into the act too.
Now we are in a situation where enormous demand for certain products is on track to produce extraordinarily disruptive changes in the habitability of our planet. Pretty soon, too...
So it's time for capitalism to evolve into something more like: supply, ecological cost of supply, and demand. Government will have to be in the mix, for some of the same reasons it is in there now, as well as to maximize policies that educate citizens and produce innovation.

Originally Posted by Pats&Sox

The first of the three Milankovitch Cycles is the Earth's eccentricity. Eccentricity is, simply, the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. This constantly fluctuating, orbital shape ranges between more and less elliptical (0 to 5% ellipticity) on a cycle of about 100,000 years. These oscillations, from more elliptic to less elliptic, are of prime importance to glaciation in that it alters the distance from the Earth to the Sun, thus changing the distance the Sun's short wave radiation must travel to reach Earth, subsequently reducing or increasing the amount of radiation received at the Earth's surface in different seasons.

Today a difference of only about 3 percent occurs between aphelion (farthest point) and perihelion (closest point). This 3 percent difference in distance means that Earth experiences a 6 percent increase in received solar energy in January than in July. This 6 percent range of variability is not always the case, however. When the Earth's orbit is most elliptical the amount of solar energy received at the perihelion would be in the range of 20 to 30 percent more than at aphelion. Most certainly these continually altering amounts of received solar energy around the globe result in prominent changes in the Earth's climate and glacial regimes. At present the orbital eccentricity is nearly at the minimum of its cycle.

Milankovitch Cycles

Originally Posted by Truth for a Change

So, who measured the temperature and carbon dioxide levels 100,000 years ago? Anders Celcius live in the 1700s? Carbon Dioxide was not even discovered until the 1750s?

Originally Posted by Truth for a Change

The Atmosphere of Mars is 95% carbon dioxide.. why is it not burning up?

Originally Posted by AzTeK

Scientists today and for the past couple of decades have been measuring temperature and carbon dioxide levels 100,000 years ago - up to 800,000 years ago even. It's called palaeoclimatology. To even ask such a question really doesn't testify to much knowledge in the field at all.



We all know the atmosphere of Mars provides for an extremely liveable climate

Originally Posted by indvdlthnkr

For non-believers of global climate change:


For non-believers of human-induced global climate change


Now look at both of those graphs. It seems to me that both of those show an increase in CO2. On the top, global average temperature increases. On the bottom, global man-made CO2 emissions increases. Can we draw a conclusion that an increase in man-made emissions probably caused a change in global CO2 levels. Yes. Can we draw a conclusion that an increase in CO2 levels caused a rise in global average temperature? Yes. I think its fair to conclude then that an increase in man-made CO2 emissions caused an increase in global average temperature.

Wasn't too hard to figure out was it?
Oh and here is a more historical representation for the stubborn


Oh and here is some good evidence that we'll have more ocean


Oh and if that doesn't put a damper on your day, this will. With more oceans we absorb more heat because the solar radiation doesn't reflect off say, ice caps, land masses, etc. So therefore we have even higher global temperatures causing more sea level rise and so far. Just one of the many positive feedback loops of our environment