Quote:
Originally Posted by MelBridgeman
since the industrial revolution or since the Little Ice Age?
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Since the industrial revolution.
Remember, we are talking are warming "rates", not warming "amounts". Even during the "little ice age", of which there have been several of in the past 1000 years, the subsequent warming was never at the rate that it was after the industrial revolution.
The "little ice age" is also a bit of a misnomer. It implies that it was a global event like a real ice age, when in fact, it occurred in several localized areas, but at the same time, many areas (particularly in the southern hemisphere) did not see cooling during that period.
From Wiki, but sourced from peer reviewed scientific sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:2...Comparison.png
If someone wants a cool science project for their kid, create 2 small scale domed "Earths". Fill one with atmosphere air and the other with CO2. Warm them both up to the same temperature and then see which one holds the temperature longer. This has been done, and the CO2 holds the temperature longer (but it usually takes longer to warm up innitally). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why applying more CO2 and other GHGs to the atmosphere will have a similar effect on the planet.