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Will global warming prevent the next Ice Age?

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There’s little question that global warming is happening. Climate data show that Earth’s average temperature has risen at least 0.7 o C (1.3 o F) over the 20th century. Temperature increases over the 21st century will probably be two and a half to five times as large,because greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide allow sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere but make it harder for outgoing infrared radiation to escape. read more

As long as there are human beings on the planet there will not be another ice age. Human caused global warming, through the burning of fossil fuels, has dwarfed the natural tendency towards the next ice age. Without humans around it is unknown when the Holocene (the current interglacial period) would have ended. read more

Though averting an ice age sounds like good news, the researchers caution that global warming isn't any picnic, either. It could lead to other drastic and unpleasant effects on the planet (think rising sea levels and dwindling global food supplies). read more

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