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DaveOrion · 09-10-2007, 01:47 PM

I beg to differ, there is plenty of evidence pointing to the cause of the little ice age....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age

Quote:

Solar activity

Solar activity events recorded in radiocarbon.During the period 1645–1715, in the middle of the Little Ice Age, there was a period of low solar activity known as the Maunder Minimum. The physical link between low sunspot activity and cooling temperatures has not been established, but the coincidence of the Maunder Minimum with the deepest trough of the Little Ice Age is suggestive of such a connection [19]. The Spörer Minimum has also been identified with a significant cooling period near the beginning of the Little Ice Age. Other indicators of low solar activity during this period are levels of the isotopes carbon-14 and beryllium-10 [20].

Volcanic activity
Throughout the Little Ice Age, the world also experienced heightened volcanic activity.[21] When a volcano erupts, its ash reaches high into the atmosphere and can spread to cover the whole of Earth. This ash cloud blocks out some of the incoming solar radiation, leading to worldwide cooling that can last up to two years after an eruption. Also emitted by eruptions is sulfur in the form of SO2 gas. When this gas reaches the stratosphere, it turns into sulfuric acid particles, which reflect the sun's rays, further reducing the amount of radiation reaching Earth's surface. The 1815 eruption of Tambora in Indonesia blanketed the atmosphere with ash; the following year, 1816, came to be known as the Year Without A Summer, when frost and snow were reported in June and July in both New England and Northern Europe.

I also beg to differ on humanities contribution to global warming, these are also well documented....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

Quote:

Over the past several years, public perceptions and attitudes concerning the causes and importance of global warming have changed. Increased awareness of the scientific findings surrounding global warming has resulted in political and economic debate. Poor regions, particularly Africa, appear at greatest risk from the suggested effects of global warming, while their actual emissions have been negligible compared to the developed world. At the same time, developing country exemptions from provisions of the Kyoto Protocol have been criticized by the United States and Australia, and have been used as part of their rationale for continued non-ratification. In the Western world, the idea of human influence on climate and efforts to combat it has gained wider acceptance in Europe than in the United States.

Fossil fuel organizations and companies such as American Petroleum Institute and ExxonMobil, represented by individuals such as Philip Cooney and some think tanks such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Cato Institute, have campaigned to downplay the risks of climate change, described by some as climate change denial. Environmental groups and public figures have launched campaigns emphasizing the risks. Recently, some fossil fuel companies have scaled back such efforts or called for policies to reduce global warming.

This issue has sparked debate regarding the benefits of limiting industrial emissions of greenhouse gases versus the effects on economic activity. In the U.S., the political manipulation of scientific testimonies and reports has also become an issue. There has also been discussion in several countries about the cost of adopting alternate, cleaner energy sources in order to reduce emissions.

Another point of debate is the degree to which newly-developed economies, such as India and China, should be expected to constrain their emissions. China's CO2 emissions (mainly from coal power plants and cars), are expected to exceed those of the U.S. within the next few years (and according to one report may have already done so). China has contended that it has less obligation to reduce emissions, since its emissions per capita are about one-fifth those of the U.S.; the U.S. contends that if they must bear the costs of reducing emissions, so should China. India will also soon be one of the biggest sources of industrial emissions, and has made assertions similar to China's on this issue.

But you are right that Dawkins is married to Mrs. Garrison, and righfully so, as his "opinions" have been accepted as fact, when they are nothing more than delusions, which have been thrown out to the masses in order to sell more books. Thank God for free enterprise.