[neverdem]

The newly analysed ice does show that although the climate is in constant flux, it is capable of producing extended warm phases even when carbon dioxide levels are stable, says Stocker. Two places in the record, for example, are marked by periods of almost 30,000 years when temperature hardly changed at all. And the beginning of these 'interglacial' phases was not linked to rises in carbon dioxide.

That's not to say that current rises in temperature are due to natural shifts, as some climate-change sceptics have claimed. "The CO2 emitted now is not part of the natural cycle," Stocker points out.

Hmmm

Tiny bubbles in ice hundreds of thousands of years old hold the key to understanding greenhouse gases, past and future.
© W. Berner/University of Bern

Ancient air bubbles shed light on greenhouse gases (Global Warming) AP version

Rise in Gases Unmatched by a History in Ancient Ice NY Times

While the overall climate pattern has been set by rhythmic variations in Earth's orientation to the Sun, the records show that carbon dioxide and methane consistently made the interglacial climate warmer than it would otherwise have been, said Thomas Stocker, one of the researchers and a physicist at the University of Bern in Switzerland.

[MJY1288]

LOL, What were the green house gas levels 650,000 years ago?
Did Al Gore record them when he was inventing the internet?

[CALawyer]

Current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in the past 650,000 years.

What great news! Since it was considerably warmer as recently as 1,000 years ago (when Greenland was actually "green"), I guess we can disregard all of these dire predictions about greenhouse gas emissions and start gassing up our SUVs again. The idea that man-made activity can influence the earth's weather patterns is a joke.

[aliquando]

Well, the world has been around for anywhere from 4 to 6 billion years. Modern humans (Homo Sapiens), have been around for (very debatable) anywhere from 350,000 to 1.5 years. These numbers are off the top of my head, but its seems to me that the world has been through some drastic changes. Most of it has happened while life has been present. I know that most of it supposedly has only been during the existence of bacteria, but da_n, give us a shot here, we are one very adaptable critter. If you want to go with the Earth only being a few thousand years old, then you can ignore this post. Please add more relevant info, as I said, these numbers are off top of my head. I am pretty good at remembering the sequences and processes, but stink at dates.(ask my wife!)

[melt]

Being alive is a threat to being alive.

[Jeff Chandler]

In a related story, Mexican food has become the most popular type of food worldwide.

[marron]

There is no time to lose. We have to send more factories to China.

[truemiester]

"The situation is similar for methane: during this period, levels hovered around 600 parts per billion. Today's atmospheric methane concentration is well over 1,700."
This of course comes from cows.
Apparently, cows drive big cars. This is why the CO2 is up.
I knew it. (Conspiracy undertone sacracm off{or is it?})

[woofie]

Im uncertain but death seems inevitable

[MCH]

This just in...

Archeologists have just discovered an ancient tablet buried in the mud in the Carribean...

After deencryption, it chronicles the passage of major legislation in ancient Atlantis about 650,000 years ago by then Atlantian emporer, Alus Gorexia, to outlaw Space-Alien Universal Vehicles (SUVs) for environmental reasons.

Corroborating evidence? You decide.

[Candor7]

"The CO2 emitted now is not part of the natural cycle," Stocker points out.



THEY ARE PART OF THE NATURAL CYCLE. What a moron!

[MNJohnnie]

BS. Pure take data and make it say what I want to believe for Political reasons junk science. Sorry but this is just more "Green" propaganda. 1 volcano eruption does more damage then all "man made" pollution. Since this time frame would cover periods of extended vulcanism, it is pure nonsense to claim "man man" damage. Just stupid propaganda

[BadAndy]

"Current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in the past 650,000 years..."

With a little effort we can beat that record.

[amigatec]

Well if you believe in creationism like I do then the Earth is only about 6000 years old, so all this data is just a bunch of hogwash.

[phantomworker]

That's not to say that current rises in temperature are due to natural shifts, as some climate-change sceptics have claimed. "The CO2 emitted now is not part of the natural cycle,"...

Thanks for the post and the reminder. Too often, we get caught up in our mundane day to day tasks and forget we need to take care of the planet as well. ==> We lose sight of the big picture and can't see the forest for the trees.

[Sam Cree]

The fractions being referenced in the article are really very small. To me, a non scientist, they would seem to fall within the margin of error.

[ChadGore]

Well then, we better start exterminating the whole of mankind.

After all, we are the problem, right?

[phantomworker]

ping. What's your take? Just curious.

[upcountryhorseman]

According to tree rings, there was a 500 year drought with
associated warming millions of years ago in the West. Long
before humans inhabited earth.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

Current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in the past 650,000 years... today's concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane far outstrip those in the past.

Faulty analysis since CO2 and Methane are not the largest component of greenhouse gases and are in fact only a tiny fraction. The main greenhouse gas cannot be measured in ice cores where its concentration will vary with the temperature of the ice and it is perfectly natural:

"Water Vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, which is why it is addressed here first. However, changes in its conentration is also considered to be a result of climate feedbacks related to the warming of the atmosphere rather than a direct result of industrialization. The feedback loop in which water is involved is critically important to projecting future climate change, but as yet is still fairly poorly measured and understood.

As the temperature of the atmosphere rises, more water is evaporated from ground storage (rivers, oceans, reservoirs, soil). Because the air is warmer, the relative humidity can be higher (in essence, the air is able to 'hold' more water when its warmer), leading to more water vapor in the atmosphere. As a greenhouse gas, the higher concentration of water vapor is then able to absorb more thermal IR energy radiated from the Earth, thus further warming the atmosphere. The warmer atmosphere can then hold more water vapor and so on and so on. This is referred to as a 'positive feedback loop'. However, huge scientific uncertainty exists in defining the extent and importance of this feedback loop. As water vapor increases in the atmosphere, more of it will eventually also condense into clouds, which are more able to reflect incoming solar radiation (thus allowing less energy to reach the Earth's surface and heat it up). The future monitoring of atmospheric processes involving water vapor will be critical to fully understand the feedbacks in the climate system leading to global climate change. As yet, though the basics of the hydrological cycle are fairly well understood, we have very little comprehension of the complexity of the feedback loops. Also, while we have good atmospheric measurements of other key greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, we have poor measurements of global water vapor, so it is not certain by how much atmospheric concentrations have risen in recent decades or centuries, though satellite measurements, combined with balloon data and some in-situ ground measurements indicate generally positive trends in global water vapor." National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Greenhouse Gases

methane: during this period, levels hovered around 600 parts per billion. Today's atmospheric methane concentration is well over 1,700.

This is only a half-truth that lets one infer that methane is rising. In fact it appears to have reached a new equilibrium:

"Methane is an extrememly effective absorber of radiation, though its atmospheric concentration is less than CO2 and its lifetime in the atmosphere is brief (10-12 years)... Direct atmospheric measurement of atmospheric methane has been possible since the late 1970s and its conentration rose from 1.52 ppmv in 1978 by around 1%/year to 1990, since when there has been little sustained increase. The current atmospheric concentration is ~1.77 ppmv, and there is no scientific consensus on why methane has not risen much since around 1990." Ibid.

the initial phase of the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012.

The end of the Mayan calendar! Coincidence?! ;-)