[Paloma_55]

Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere alters Earth's radiative balance such that a global temperature increase would be the likeliest outcome.

I think you should preface this argument with the html tags... [Speculation] and [/Speculation] Yes, CO2 is subtantially higher in the atmosphere and very likely due to human activity. However, you have no data that the "stable climate period" we are seeing is not due to that CO2. How does C02 affect climate dynamics?? This is pure speculation. For all you know, it could ultimately lead to a stabilization of temperatures. C02 levels typically lag global temperature, so we can conclude that they are not causal, and if anything, *may* be the cause of the downturn in temperatures we see when global C02 levels get close to 300ppm.

[cogitator]

However, you have no data that the "stable climate period" we are seeing is not due to that CO2. How does C02 affect climate dynamics??

CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has been about 280 ppm for about 9,000 years since the end of the glacial period until about 1750, when it started to increase, probably due to land use changes. After 1850 the increase accelerated, due to industrialization and fossil fuel burning.

CO2 levels lag the initial increase in temperature at glacial-interglacial transitions -- these major transitions are likely caused by Milankovitch cycle solar forcing. Climate science indicates that the increasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere initiates a positive feedback cycle that drives temperatures higher.