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Frank-
 
 Most recently I had heard (in a PBS special) that the longer geologic records 
shows Earth is actually well overdue for an Ice Age, and the data indicate 
that the only reason we didn't start one hundreds or thousands of years ago, 
is because mankind has been releasing CO2 so well for so long.
 So, the argument is not "has man caused global warming" but rather "Has 
mankind accidentally saved his butt, by accidentally preventing the Ice Age 
we should be in now?!"

 There are also plenty of historical notes from England and the northern 
islands of what is still called "The year without summer" vaguely around 
1100-1300AD when the climate got so cold for 2-3 years that there were 
complete summer crop failures and what passed for civilizations failed. 
Viking settlements in Greenland, etc. were abandoned because it was no longer 
possible to grow crops. From what I've heard this is blamed on a single 
volcano and massive cooling produced by the atmospheric dust.

 My point is not to present research for anyone who wants it, they go can do 
it themselves. The only salient FACT among my lack of exact dates and 
locations is to say that yes, we have been "one incident" away from 
catastrophic cooling, within recent recorded history. Global warming may be a 
danger, but it has probably saved our civilization in the interim.

   

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