"The time series shows the combined global land and marine surface temperature record from 1856 to 2002."
And the following time series are representative of the change in global temperature record across the last 500 thousand years, note the minor uptick(i.e. 1856 to 2002 identified as "global warming") to a median temperature in an overall downtrend for the last 2400 years,
One's trend all depends on the time frame one wants to use to make a political point with.
You've missed the point of my posting, AG. The thread began with a Newsweek article that discussed "global cooling" (notwithstanding that there was not really any peer-reviewed science during that period that suggested an actual cooling trend). I posted the graph to show that the global cooling suggestions were made due to a short period of time during the 20th century when the warming trend that commenced at about the turn of the century moderated. There have been suggestions that global temperatures during this time, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, were influenced by sulfate aerosols as industrial production, commencing with the war effort in the early '40s and continuing into the "Baby Boom" post-war economy, was very strong with few emissions controls. There is also a possible relationship suggested with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation mode.
I have no intention of getting into a broader discussion of "global warming" on this thread. I know you're out there. I have had some distractions in my personal life that have temporarily detracted from my ability to post topics and discuss them fully on FR. This "condition" may persist for a few more weeks. But as time allows, I will be glad to continue discussion on the topic. Just not here, and not now.
