Ice ages and large climate variations occurred in the past. Why do we think this current situation isn’t natural?
While theories exist, no one knows for sure what caused ice ages or large climate fluctuations in the past. However, the fact that these vast climate changes did happen, and the fact that they drove entire species to extinction, is proof that they can happen again. These historic variations also suggest that our climate system is delicately balanced, and that it can be disrupted, with severe consequences. In fact, decades ago, climate experts predicted that our forcing of greenhouse gases into the air could cause the climate system to reach a “tipping point” — a point at which the climate system destabilizes, causing temperatures to fluctuate up and down and causing severe storms, droughts and floods. This is known as the “staggering drunk” theory. We now understand that when we force so much heat-trapping gas into the air so quickly, as we are now doing, we are disrupting this delicate equilibrium. We do not fully understand how our complex climate system will respond, but it is appar
