How many ice ages have been documented? Multiple. What usually precedes an ice age? A warming/heating of the earth temperatures. The earth's climates have a self regulating mechanism that prevents it from straying too far either way. So, in essence, if there really is going to be global warming, judging by what has happened in the past, this period of increased overall temperatures WILL be followed by a similar cooling off period. And if the retraction is severe enough, it will bring about another ice age.
See, the reason I posted the picture of the mounds of snow in Boston harbor is because most folks have no idea HOW FUCKING DIFFICULT is to get rid of ice. In order for a mini ice-age to get going all it takes is back to back high snowfall winters coupled with relatively cool summers. A few years back, the passes around Mt Rainier had to be closed due to the amount of snow accumulated during the winter. The snow layer was stacked so high than even by mid summer it was still 10 feet tall. By the end of the summer, most of the snow was gone, but had it survived the summer, and had the following winter been another snowmageddon, it could've seriously affected the regions climate, bringing it down a few degrees and, most likely kick-starting a localized mini-ice age. And it does spread.
You are correct, the earth does cycle, this is dependent on many variables, the sun's output, the earths orbit, species migration, ocean currents etc etc The problem is that we are altering earth's atmospheric composition rapidly, more so than before. This is the issue, how rapid we are altering things. The permafrost has never melted (might want to double check), we can induce a runaway greenhouse effect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesisThis can occur again, it likely will as it has in the past, but the speed is the issue we are seeing species dying left and right, in line with the past. It appears we are doing it by dumping massive amounts of C02 into the atmosphere.
What sense does it make to continue with non-renewables? it's illogical, it won't work by definition. We have to smarten up and not be reactionary. This doesn't mean driving flintstones cars but investing in alt sources of energy which could supplant coal etc. it has to be better.
Colonizing mars seems idiotic, but if an asteroid wiped out the earth humans as a species are gone, we have to spread out, it's seems silly but the logic is sound, same with this shit regarding earth, we have but one.
