Cambridge university scientists say that a new Ice Age is due to start within 1,500 years.
But due to human carbon emissions, the lethal 'big freeze' could be put off.
Levels of CO2 in the atmosphere could actually insulate against a catastrophic ice age which would see glaciers advance over Europe and north America.
The scientists admit that we would be 'better off' in a warmer world - but caution that this is 'missing the point'.
In a paper published in Nature Geoscience, Cambridge University paleoclimatologist Luke Skinner says that even if carbon emissions stopped today, levels would remain elevated for at least 1,000 years, and stored heat could prevent the next Ice Age from happening.
Interesting perspective.
Read anather article recently saying that a warming world would be good for british farmers!
Peace always has been and always will be an intermittent flash of light in a dark history of warfare, violence, and destruction
Ignoring "acidification of the oceans" which is the newest bugbear and raison-du-jour why we need to stop burning fossil fuels according to the all-wise greenies, the world will be both wetter and warmer if we have extra co2 and/or methane in the atmosphere thus it's likely that if-it-were-consistent then crop yields would be better across the board rather than worse.
The question is: will they be consistent or will we be seeing more randomness and more storms?
I've read that although the world will be wetter in terms of rainfall it will be in the form of deluges rather than that nice kind of rain, the small stuff that gets you really wet
More heat in the system means more energy so more violence.
As a farmer working in a warming climate I'm wondering where the rain has gone not where we're going to put it all. I've had to reduce the number of stock that I keep because the grass isn't growing as well as it used to. My tatties and carrots aren't as big as they used to be because there isn't as much rain. There might be more rain in general but it won't necessarily be falling in the places where it used to fall. Beware!
"lethal new ice age" is a misleading, or meaningless term.
"Lethal" how? To who or what? And where?
The planet as a whole, and humanity on average, would be better off if there was another major glaciation. Northern Europe would become uninhabitable, but globally the oceans would be more productive and more land (productive sort) would be exposed by falling sea levels than would be lost to the ice.
We must deal with reality or it will deal with us.
