Re: VRD - Coming Ice Age and human created heat wave?

Hello, Mary!

Well, as you can imagine, the subject of global warming is not without 
controversy! However, there does seem to be some consensus, although it is 
by no means unanimous, that human activity is indeed contributing to some 
overall warming of the climate. So, will this prevent the next ice age 
(which is now thought to be some 10,000 years away, more or less)? 
Probably not; it may even hasten its arrival, due to shifts in ocean 
currents! Or it may make no difference whatsoever; there is some thought 
that the ice ages depend more on fluctuations in solar output than 
anything else. In this case anything we could do locally (on the earth, 
that is) would have little effect.

Here are some Web pages on the subject:

First, there will be a conference on Global Warming and The Next Ice Age 
in August 2001; you might want to keep an eye out for the proceedings. 
Here's the conference announcement:
 http://www.atm.dal.ca/announcement4.htm

And now some articles:

Global Warming Could Trigger Ice Age 
 http://www.monitor.net/monitor/free2/oceancollapse.html

Global warming could lead to another ice age.
 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/PolarParadox/

The Warming of the Earth
A beginner's guide to understanding the issue of global warming
 http://www.whrc.org/globalwarming/warmingearth.htm

Global Climate Change ("Global Warming") 
 http://janus.state.me.us/dep/air/global.htm

A new European ice age?
 http://naturalscience.com/ns/cover/cover5.html

Freezing future
There's now alarming evidence that Europe is facing an ice age
 http://www.newscientist.com/global/global.jsp?id=22140300

Latest News on Global Warming, from the New Scientist
 http://www.newscientist.com/global/global.jsp