Originally Posted by Crash One
I don't think the way it is described is correct, "our fault, industry, the motor car, aviation etc" I believe it has been creeping up on us for thousands of years, since Neanderthal started to cut down trees.
I doubt that any of the activities of Neanderthals, or indeed any other form of hominids had any effect on the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, until the Industrial Revolution. That was when we started burning, in significant quantities, the carbon that had been stored under our feet for millions of years. The by-products of burning it include greenhouse gases which have the same effect as, well, a greenhouse. Once the temperature rises enough to melt the permafrosts, which is
already happening in Alaska and Siberia, the methane trapped beneath them is released, in a positive feedback cycle. Methane is apparently about 20 times as effective a greenhouse gas as CO2, partly because it remains in the atmosphere for much longer.
It's only human nature to blame everything but ourselves for what's happening, but sooner or later common sense will have to prevail. However, it's also human nature to remain in denial until the evidence is so overwhelming that it will probably be too late to do anything about it, except fight for dwindling food and water resources. I find it puzzling that natural selection has led to the dominance of selfishness over common sense, to the extent that we seem willing to self-destruct, to maintain our lifestyles.