New study confirms CO2 levels are the Earth's "thermostat" over 485 million years of data studied

[BackInTheGame78]

Researchers have come up with pretty conclusive evidence about several things after studying 485 million years of climactic data.

They said the Earth's average temperature during that time has ranged between 52 degrees and 97 degrees.

They also find that CO2 levels are essentially the "thermostat" for earth as when CO2 levels are high, the temperature rises and when they have been low, the temperature falls and this has been very consistent over all of the data studied.

However there are 3 things to note:

1. Humans and most animals evolved over a time period that has a range of 10 degrees from coldest to warmest averages. This gives us very little ability to have innate survival mechanisms for conditions outside this range.
2. The current rapid increases in CO2 levels are unprecedented over the 485 million years. Never before has it increased so rapidly in Earth's history.
3. While this is nowhere near as warm as earth has been in the past, it IS approaching or already at the warmest it's ever been since humans and most of the mammals have evolved.

The alarming part is that with CO2 levels and as a byproduct, temperatures, increasing so rapidly, it far outpaces the ability of a species to adapt to these conditions over time. They simply don't work that quickly which raises serious concerns for not only humans but many of the other animals survival as the CO2 levels as temperatures continue to increase at ever accelerated levels.

Over nearly half a billion years, Earth's global temperature has changed drastically, driven by carbon dioxide

A new study offers the most detailed glimpse yet into how Earth's surface temperature has changed over the past 485 million years. The data show that Earth has been and can be warmer than today -- but humans and animals cannot adapt fast enough to keep up with human-caused climate change.

www.sciencedaily.com

 

[Scaramouche]

Hi BackInTheGame,
Just to cheer you up,in Southern Australia we are experiencing the coldest Spring Days ever recorded.