Speaking in terms of Earth’s history, our records are miniscule, meaning that data from hundreds of thousands of years ago, paleoclimatic records, are all the more important.
Global average temperatures have been measured since the mid-19th century and comprehensive data on snow and glaciers has only been acquired since the 1960s. Overall, the evidence leads to the assertion in the fourth IPPC assessment that “warming of the climate system is unequivocal” and that “eleven of the last twelve years (1995 -2006) rank among the 12 warmest years in the instrumental record of global surface temperature (since 1850).”
However we also benefit from analyzing conditions as far back as we can possibly “see”. Enter ice cores, tree rings, coral and other proxy fossil data from which moisture levels and chemical composition can be read. As long as the ice isn’t melting and the trees aren’t burning, the IPCC report can conclude that “atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide in 2005 exceeds by far the natural range over the last 650,000 years(180 to 300 ppm) as determined from ice cores.”
Really, it’s a shame Michael Crichton has put his creative paleontological skills to work spreading disinformation on climate change. He seems to be stuck in the Jurassic Park era, climate and creatures included.
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