Dr. Benny Peiser 11.01.2012 19:02 +Feedback
Could rising CO2 levels help prevent the next ice age?
We do not know the precise causes of ice ages or of the timing of interglacials. The earth’s orbit about the sun is one factor, but there seem to be others and no scientist has anything other than a partial explanation. It may be that the Cambridge scientists are correct, though they believe the CO2 in our atmosphere has gone way beyond levels needed to delay the ice’s return. It may be, in the complex interplay of climatic parameters, that high CO2 might hasten the return of the ice sheets. There is some evidence that during some harsh glaciations over 400 million years ago, the CO2 level was more than ten times today’s amount. There is much uncertainty here, but also an intriguing question. Do we want to reduce CO2 in our atmosphere to pre-industrial levels? Or would we all be better of maintaining a higher level? Or perhaps, nature might surprise us yet again.
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Kategorie(n): Klima-Debatte