Koyoto is here

[Wombat]

Originally Posted by Beestie

Ok, I'm joking. But while we're on the subject, why did the last ice age end?

that's a relief

The last ice age ended as a part of a natural cycle. What we are doing is raising the whole cycle up several degrees (at least), in a very short space of time. Normally the cyclical changes are slow enough that we don't notice them in the course of one lifetime, however this change is so rapid that we will suffer.

tw, yes you are right! Sorry if I didn't say what I said clearly. Good point about the north pole ice not changing the sea level, most people don't realise that so it's always worth re-iterating.

This is one of those topics where there are two opposing groups with such inconsistent beliefs that at least one group must be fooling themselves: so which is it? Can we prove/disprove global warming conclusively? (without just waiting to see if we're right/wrong!) And if we can find a conclusive proof one way or the other, will it actually convince everyone or will some people still stubbonly refuse to believe?