Yet another inconvenient truth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypticism#/media/File:Durer_Revelation_Four_Riders.jpg

So, it turns out that global warming started 100 years ago. 

This is really bad news if increased carbon dioxide levels are responsible for global warming. In 1900 it is estimated that the 296 ppm (parts per million) CO2 level was only 16 ppm higher than they were before the industrial revolution (estimated 280 ppm in 1800) started to impact CO2 levels .   

Let's review what that implies.  In 1804 world human population was about 1 billion. World wide coal consumption could be measured in thousands of tons, mostly for heating homes in the few places where coal could be found or transported.  There were no gas or oil wells except maybe a few in China. And other than a few steam engines in Western Europe and the USA there were no cars, trucks, trains, airplanes or stationary machinery running on fossil fuel. According to Our World in Data coal energy produced in 1800 was 128 Terra Watt hours. In 1850, the early years of industrial revolution, world consumption of fossil fuels was 569 Terra Watt hours.  By 1900ish world population was 2 billion. Except for Western Europe and the USA, most of the world still relied on traditional sources of energy, burning wood for heat, muscle power for transportation, growing and making things.  The primary fossil fuel was coal, oil and gas were starting to take off, but still represented a minor portion of fossil fuel use. By 1920 that had increased 10,955 Terra Watt hours for all fossil fuels, which seems like a lot until you compare to 2019 when the world consumed 135,807 Terra Watt hours worth of fossil fuels resulting in 412 ppm CO2, an increase of 132 over 1800 estimated levels.   

So, if the solution to reduce CO2 to pre-industrial levels in order to halt  global warming, and to do this will require total cessation of fossil fuel energy soon if not sooner, consider that most, if not all of the consumption of the billions of tons, barrels, and cubic meters of coal, oil and gas are used directly or indirectly to keep the majority of nearly 8 billion people fed, watered and warm.  It should be noted that the increase in CO2 levels associated with the increased use of fossil fuel, 132 ppm, or 0.000132 C02  parts to all the other gases and vapors found in our air. If you prefer percentages, the increase is 0.0132% more C02 today's air than in 1800.

We are told that abandoning fossil fuel needs to be accomplished by 2050, or something very bad is gonna happen, like Wall Street will be under water.  Literally.

Climate change has happened before, many times, the evidence is there in human, fossil and geological records.  We know that much of the northern hemisphere was covered by a miles high ice sheet as recently as 12,000 years ago.  Some of us even know that there were times when there was no permanent ice anywhere on earth including at the poles.  We know that during historical times warming occurred between 250 BC and 400 AD, followed by cooling, it warmed up again around 900 AD, and cooled again in the late 1200's until 1850, when it started to warm up again.

We also know that before the ice covering the northern hemisphere melted, much of North America and Eurasia was almost completely devoid of vegetable and animal life.  We know that when the ice melted, vegetation and animals including humans, quickly filled and prospered on once ice covered land.  We know that a warming period that started 1200 years ago coincided with the growth of empires and the spread of civilizations and technology in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.  And we know that when a  climate descends into a cooling period there were famines, plagues and collapse of civilizations.

So if you are trying to scare us with climate change, don't tell us its getting warmer.