The single largest effector on planetary climate is the sun...that wee golden orb that hangs in the sky each and every day.
The sun has cycles of varying energy output...along with the fact that the earth does not orbit the sun in a perfect circle. Also, the ancient civilizations spent a copious amount of effort calculating precession (changes in axial tilt) among other things, so they had an idea of celestial mechanics that affected their existence (and the planet they existed on). So many complex celestial motions influence how much solar energy reaches our humble orb.
Previous cycles of major warming and major cooling have happened before, long before humans were even a blip on the radar of life, much less a significant contributor to the situation. [Maybe dinosaurs had a lot of gas? cows produce methane, how much more would dinosaurs fart?]
There is most definitely climate change. And yes, humanity is contributing to that. And so do active volcanoes. So does the Sun.
The difference is that the sun nor volcanoes nor anything else not humankind doesn't give a care about politics, nor power, no control over others, nor profit; they tend to be unresponsive to taxing or regulation.
I would like to see a comprehensive study where the suns energy impact on the planet is tracked back through the ages and matched against the warming/cooling cycles our planet has gone through thus far.
my humble 2 cents
Slashdot Mirror
The single largest effector on planetary climate is the sun...that wee golden orb that hangs in the sky each and every day. The sun has cycles of varying energy output...along with the fact that the earth does not orbit the sun in a perfect circle. Also, the ancient civilizations spent a copious amount of effort calculating precession (changes in axial tilt) among other things, so they had an idea of celestial mechanics that affected their existence (and the planet they existed on). So many complex celestial motions influence how much solar energy reaches our humble orb. Previous cycles of major warming and major cooling have happened before, long before humans were even a blip on the radar of life, much less a significant contributor to the situation. [Maybe dinosaurs had a lot of gas? cows produce methane, how much more would dinosaurs fart?] There is most definitely climate change. And yes, humanity is contributing to that. And so do active volcanoes. So does the Sun. The difference is that the sun nor volcanoes nor anything else not humankind doesn't give a care about politics, nor power, no control over others, nor profit; they tend to be unresponsive to taxing or regulation. I would like to see a comprehensive study where the suns energy impact on the planet is tracked back through the ages and matched against the warming/cooling cycles our planet has gone through thus far. my humble 2 cents