It appears that all this man-made global warming could be counteracting the onset of the next major ice age.
Is that good news? Not necessarily for us humans. The planet is soon due to cool down again, mainly because its orbit takes us further from the sun. But ‘soon’ in planetary terms means in maybe something like 1,500 years.
It seems we slammed the brakes on the cooling process too early and too hard. Because in the meantime we face global temperature rises of 4 degrees C or more. Soon – in more human terms, like within a century or so. It’s an open question whether humanity will survive the gap between our self-inflicted heating and natural planetary cooling.
So is it time to give up on human civilization?
Not in my view. If we all choose to act as if it’s too late, then our actions become self-fulfilling prophecies. But if we all choose to act as though there is still a chance, then maybe there is… maybe we create one.
On a cheerful note, one climate analyst suggests that “if we save the remaining fossil fuels, we could head off the next few ice ages by burning on the appropriate orbital schedule.” Now that’s true long-term thinking. Leave them in the ground, folks!
Awesome post.