[Odin]

Originally Posted by Tenchu

You do understand 'progressive' is a new word for hippie. LOL, that site is GAF.

Anyway, an ice age is due, and it is not a bad thing, as long as it is a stable one. The fear is we will assist in creating an unstable one. Or another fear is the complete opposite of this... desertification, so on.

You know, there was once this ice age that engulfed the whole planet, and created a snowball earth. We would not exist today if it was not for one angry fuckin volcano releaseing carbon dioxide and fire into the air!

Yeah, I agree, that article was highly speculative. He mixed in enough good science, to make the rest sound reasonable. It makes for an interesting book, but is far from being a fair scientific analysis. It is not total BS, but it still has that odor!

As far as the "Snowball Earth" theory is concerned there are more questions than answers. There is little doubt that the Cyogenian period was one of the coldest in history. However there is quite a bit of evidence to suggest that is was not a total freeze. This evedence is in the form of sediment deposits that only form from rapidly moving water and seasonal ice melting events. More reasonable studies point that oceanic freezing at the most extended to 25°. It is believed however that even at the equator there was extensive glacial activity in the inland of the supercontinent of Rodinia.

It should be noted that the rapid erosion of Rodina, the same event that help trap carbon-dioxide and bring about the ice age, also released massive amounts of minerals and nutrients into the ocean. Those nutrients were the source of the massive explosion in the amount of life after the ice receded. So the ice was as necessary as the fire that ended it.

Also it should be noted that the volcanic activity only accelerated the end of the ice age. Eventually Rodina would break apart, and the ocean currents would have stopped the continental cooling effect.

OK enough with theories of the ancient past. lets talk about our current problems.