Hot and Wet

Anthropogenic global warming alarmists are strident and misuse “undeniable,” “unprecedented,” and “catastrophic.” However, man-caused global warming is easily deniable, there are hundreds of natural precedents to our current warming, and previous cold periods, not warm ones, have been catastrophic for mankind. During the past 300 million years, about 90 percent of the time the Earth was much warmer than today. Even in the comparatively cooler Jurassic Period (199.6 to 145.5 million years ago) there was no polar ice. Glaciers on Antarctica didn’t form until almost 35 million years ago.

Naturally, warmer Earth had much higher sea levels; today’s are near the lowest ever, 400 to 1,000 feet below “normal.” If we had “normal” sea levels now, Gualala Ridge would be atop an island or submerged.

For more than half of the past 299 million years the Earth has averaged over 20º F warmer, and our present cool climate is the exception. In fact, the Holocene Climate Optimum, only 9,000 to 5,000 years ago, averaged over 4º F warmer than today. The Medieval Warm Period, 900 to 1350 AD, was also significantly warmer. Tree and snow lines were 1,000 feet higher, crops flourished, and civilizations advanced rapidly. Then the Little Ice Ages, 1350 to 1850 AD, featured severe storms, droughts, crop failures, plague, and the collapse of civilizations. Global cooling, not warming, would cause a “collapse of our lives.”

Fortunately for humanity, the Earth will normally be much warmer. Unfortunately, in the short term we’re going to plunge back into an Ice Age. Since six of the ten hottest years were over fifty years ago, the warmest year was 1934, and we have and are experiencing cooling as CO2 rises, it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to escape global cooling by pumping up greenhouse gases.

Hang on to your warm coat!