Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay
By Jo Nova
It’s a cult science
To the devotee, CO2 is the magical control knob of global weather. So a team at UC-Riverside wondered why, 600 million years ago, when CO2 was extremely high, Earth ended up frozen over in a Snowball Earth horror show. I mean, how could that be when CO2 ‘boils the oceans’? Normal people would say this shows CO2 is irrelevant — but the cult scientists went hunting with their broken computer models until they found “a new feedback” excuse that can explain this puzzling anomaly.
In their new vision, CO2 warms the world, but under the right conditions, it sets off a ghastly negative spiral where more warming causes more phytoplankton, which suck the CO2 out of the sky in a feeding frenzy and then sink and die at the bottom of the ocean, taking the CO2 down with them. As the CO2 drains out of the sky, we lose its warming glow, and the world sinks into a frozen oblivion.
Though unlike actual scientific advancements it doesn’t explain any of the other thousand anomalies, and is falsified by most of the last 500 million years of history. Pretty much all that time, CO2 and temperature were higher than today but we didn’t keep flipping into a snowball Earth.
The other awkward problem is that phytoplankton grow much more slowly in cooler temperatures, and it will happen in minutes. It’s not like the Earth could drop 20 degrees and the microalgae and diatoms won’t notice for a thousand years, and will just keep chugging along. Volcanoes add a stream of CO2 back to the sky, so the phytoplankton would have to outpace them.
Imagine the quicksand the modelers are playing with. They are trying to cover 100,000 year timescales, geological weathering of silicate rocks, and blend it all in happy-happy to model life forms that breed every 24 hours and have a lifespan of six days. The models don’t work to start with, and now we’re extrapolating every variable in every direction.
We might as well read tea leaves. It would be cheaper and we can fertilize the garden afterwards.
100 shades of irrelevant
If carbon dioxide doesn’t cause much warming in the first place, it can’t cause much cooling when it’s gone, and we know its minor. The hot spot has been missing for 20 years. Most of the warming effect of CO2 is supposed to come from amplification by water vapor in the upper troposphere, but we looked for decades and 28 million radiosondes didn’t find it. Until the climate modelers admit this, apologize and fix their models, their models won’t work. But we all know they can’t fix their models, because that might accidentally “solve” the climate crisis which would be a disaster for all the subsidy seekers.
For anyone new to this debate, their modelers said that water vapor was the big deal, and the fingerprint of disaster right up until the minute they discovered the fingerprint wasn’t there.
Excuses, Excuses
To explain why this dire whipsawing feedback worked in 600 million BC, but hasn’t been noticed in the last half a billion years, the researchers do some convoluted excuse-making. Apparently it was more likely then because oxygen levels were lower. In that scenario, the CO2 sinks, but the phosphorus recycles at the surface which feeds even bigger phytoplankton blooms, like a global vacuum sucking CO2 out of the sky and pumping it down the Mariana trench. It’s all just-so reasoning.
Until the climate modelers make models that work in the last 50 years, they haven’t got a clue about the Precambrian.
What this paper does show though, is that Climate Science functions like a cult. This is what happens with 30 years of government funded research that no one can question. Teams of semi-functional desk-jockeys with PhDs take a bad assumption, amplify it in broken computer models and come up with nonsense that unfunded bloggers can disassemble on sight.
But handily, if an ice age happens, they’ll be able to say “we were right” and blame CO2.
The 500 million years of CO2 and Temperature on Earth. | Berner and Scotese
h/t Peter C and K
REFERENCE
Dominik Hülse, Andy Ridgwell (2025) Instability in the geological regulation of Earth’s climate. Science, 2025; 389 (6767) DOI: 10.1126/science.adh7730
And the later Ordovician ice age occurred with CO2 about 3,000 p.p.m.
And the late Jurassic cooling (to about 2C above current “dangerous levels”) occurred with CO2 about 2700 p.p.m.
Someone should have told the dinosaurs.
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The good part of the story is that at the start of the Triassic it was near 200 ppm. Somehow the Globe recovered.
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Someone should have informed BOBowen!
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Remember that old song “Whatever will be, will be”. And so it will so can we leave the scary statements behind. Tomorrow is Christmas and we should be thankful that a child was born 2000 years ago who grew to be a peaceful man with a message of hope. Enjoy life, honour God and treat your fellow man as you would have him treat you. Love really does conquer all.
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Having CO2 as an agent of Global Warming or Cooling is a theory for those who are innumerate and have no knowledge of physics.
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It’s the God molecule, for sure.
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Green cultists and grifters.
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All their thrashing around for explanations is laughable.
If the idea of Judith Curry’s uncertainty monster is a bit difficult for them, they might warm up with a lesson from the centipede.
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I like science.
It’s fashionable.
It’s good the 70s are back in style.
I live near a STEM University.
I will be on the lookout for mullets.
I will dutifully report.
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Our co2 levels are historically very low today and according to many Scientists we couldn’t raise the temperature that much if we burned all the fossil fuels on Earth over the next century.
But our loony treasonous cult will stop at nothing to try and finish off the OECD countries and help China, Russia, Iran and Nth Korea etc to achieve their evil goals.
And there are plenty more clueless, useful idiots to help them build our road to serfdom.
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They seem to share the same psychosis with the people that can’t give up their Covid masks.
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Dr Will Happer explains that the co2 effect has almost reached saturation in our atmosphere today.
This video takes less than 1 minute to watch.
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=co2+nearly+saturated+in+our+atmosphere+co2+coalition+australia&mid=0676A74DFF5D1C5071ED0676A74DFF5D1C5071ED&mmscn=stvo&FORM=VIRE
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Linnea Luekin also covers the co2 warming effect in this 2 + minute video and the most warming comes from the FIRST 20 ppm of co2.
See the co2 warming effect graph at about 1 minute 30 seconds.
The co2 warming effect of 424 ppm is very small today.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=linnea+luekin+facts+co2+effect+saturation
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I’m sorry this is the video I tried to send.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV2KozyIusg
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Recent events of climate alarmism (. BULLSHITE ) , the Bondi tragedy appear to have triggered all sorts of backpedaling “ soul searching “ from both sides of politics.
Pity none of them try a bit of vision when dreaming up ideological policy fantasies.
Unfortunately they always seem to revert to navel gazing when VISION is the obvious necessity. Warnings about immigration etc are not only 2 years old. Those warnings go back more than 20 years, compliments of Pauline Hanson. Immigration particularly selection of applicants who will assimilate were prominent!
Look where we are today. The economy spiralling down, out of control, the population riddled with fear insecurity due to crime, trigger happy religious zealots threatening
to kill the Jews & celebrating the massacre of Jewish communities. Suddenly all rain storms have morphed into “ super cells” “ extreme heat “ , run for lives the sky is falling.
Worst of all there’s not a leader in sight. That applies to all political parties. What happened to the Australia we all knew.
We need a revolution in the political system OR ELSE!!
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We know that a “Snowball Earth” climate is possible because it has happened before. This paper suggests a likely mechanism. The paper is paywalled, but the premise is reasonable.
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Simon will we have to wait for 50 or 100 or 200 million years or…. into the future for your second coming revelation?
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Neville:
No point in arguing with Simon. His ‘mind’ is made up and carbon dioxide will cause catastrophe somehow.
That the snowball Earth times were when the Sun was weaker, and the carbon dioxide in greater concentrations won’t penetrate.
I have long since stopped adding even a down vote for him.
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‘ … the premise is reasonable.’
Its only a theory to try and prove CO2 causes global warming, it is a long gravy train.
El Nino periodically causes global warming without the assistance of a trace gas.
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A more likely premise is that they are looking for any reason at all to validate why the climate models don’t work. They won’t admit that the climate models are garbage though.
How many excuses, prediction fails etc. will it take for a true believer to admit they are wrong?
The money gravy train provides too much incentive for them to admit to anything.
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‘ … a likely mechanism …’
Putting snowball earth aside, here we see that oceanic oscillations are the main drivers of climate change.
https://notrickszone.com/2025/12/23/two-more-new-studies-show-the-southern-ocean-and-antarctica-were-warmer-in-the-1970s/
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ChatGPT says that if the Sun was 6% less luminous, and the Earth looks white from space, the Earth’s average surface temperature would drop from 15 ºC to –34 ºC. Professor Nir Shaviv provided the evidence that the ‘20 GeV plus’ higher energy Cosmic Rays unaffected by the Earth’s magnetic field, proved that the Sun was the primary cause for climate change. In 2021, Svensmark and Shaviv produced this evidence in Nature “Atmospheric ionization and cloud radiative forcing”: https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/259138690/s41598_021_99033_1.pdf
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Anything could trigger the next ice age, maybe even Chris Bowen. However,the Sun will trigger the next ice age.
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From Science Dribble article:
“may… believe… can… potentially…”
I’m sold! Where do I sign up and who can I send my money to? Possibly it’s already begun as fresh snowflakes have been sighted on the hills of TAS and NZ this topsy-turvy Christmas Eve (with more to come?). Keep the faith and believe!
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Ah well. A piece of junk science to throw on the bonfire at the end of the year.
Happy X mas and best wishes for the New Year.
(still dreaming of a white Christmas down there?)
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What next?
Higher levels of CO2 above the minimum level needed for Life on Earth to survive, will cause brain damage in alleged Climate Scientists?
For that one, the True Science is settled.
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Donald Trump said the same thing. Global Warming and Global Cooling at the same time. All covered by UN/Chinese promoted Climate Change. Boiling oceans and an ice age.
In Australia we have gone a step further to protect ourselves with the legislated Safeguard Mechanism, a massive 35% tax on CO2 in everything except petrol and wages. And with a condition no one is told.
Now Australia has the world’s first massive tax on breathing out. I guess focus groups have determined that people would be much more concerned if breathing in was taxed as well, at least without a good scientific explanation. So far breathing in is tax free.
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And after Climate Change, according to our Prime Minister and his entire team, the next biggest threat is from Australian NAZIs. It’s really disappointing that they can never find enough of them for television.
Maybe Australia can import NAZIs? Just an idea. For a Lousy $1Bn, less than a tiny share in a failing Californian Quantum Computing company, we could have 1,000 NAZIs at $1Million each. Complete with uniforms, jackboots, SS deaths heads and swagger sticks. Swastika tattoos are free but optional.
It’s worth it. This would justify endless legislation, take people’s minds off soaring taxation, a trillion dollar debt, collapsing power supplies, soaring electricity costs and Islamic Terror. We could have 10,000 of them for $100K each. And they could march with BLM.
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I remember that year ago a public meeting was accompanied by 5 or 6 right wing extremists who stood behind a post & rail fence annoying people with chants. The late George Duffield said of one, “I remember when he was a free-range Nazi”.
Vale George.
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I love the smell of desperation in the morning.
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Again, Matt Canavan tells Sky News’Outsiders program how the clueless Labor con merchants and liars are wasting another 5 billion $ on batteries for rich Aussies to install in their homes.
Who cares about the great unwashed who can’t afford to be a part of Labor’s scam because they’re battling to pay off the mortgage and trying to put food on the table?
When will people start to wake up and put Labor ,Greens and Teals last and One Nation first and definitely place the LNP before all these other anti-Aussie left wing loonies?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk6HvkYFOmw
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This boon dongle was sold on the basis that household battery owners would send power to the grid. Cant see that happening as home battery owners will optimize when they send power to the grid. The grid market is always working to increase prices.
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I happen to think the basic science of CO2 warming the atmosphere is soundly based however the CAGW extension is Ludacris.
RCP 8.5 is not a fraud its a model run which is now gone. The desperate polies cling to it like a long lost child.
The unfortunate thing is we who argued for sanity based on sensible science derived reason had no impact, it was just the lift in energy costs which flipped everything, I’m happy with the outcome but unimpressed with the route to success.
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…ludicrous?
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Breaking news:
“Earth is currently in a long-term ice age called the Quaternary, experiencing an interglacial warm period within it, characterized by glaciers retreating to the poles.”
They need to sort out their presentation.
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From a couple of old lakes in the Wimmera, paleo climate history.
‘Kemp et al. report discovering short-lived, low-salinity events at 8800, 7200, 5900, 4800, 2400, 1300 and 400 years that are similar in timing and number to those recorded on Australia’s southern continental shelf and globally.
‘They also say these events provide evidence for the existence of the ~1500-year cycle in mainland southern Australia, adding they surmise that the low-salinity excursions are cool events associated with periodic equator-ward shifts in the westerly wind circulation.
‘In addition, they say that a solar origin for the ~1500-year cycle is favored by some and they report that considerable evidence suggests that variations in solar output may have caused the position of the westerly flow to vary at centennial to millennial timescales in the late Holocene which is consistent with climatic excursions during the Holocene recorded in South America and in glacial surges in New Zealand’s South Island both linked to varying westerly influence and which are in good agreement with the records obtained here.’
What it means.
‘Evidence continues to accumulate for the reality of both centennial- and millennial-scale cycles of climate change that ultimately have their origin in similarly-timed oscillations of some aspect of solar activity.’ (CO2 Science)
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Oceanic forcing is behind the 1500 year cycle, not solar forcing.
https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/3/569/2007/
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CO2, or what the Left annoyingly call “carbon” (sic), is the perfect magical trace gas.
It heats. It cools. It does everything you might imagine it does.
You just have to crank a few parameters on your fake computer “models” and you get whatever answer is required for your next taxpayer-funded research grant.
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And most importantly it generates revenue.
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Not sure about 600 million years ago but 500 million years ago there was between 3,000 and 9,000ppm of CO2.
What beings were around way back then to create these high CO2 levels because according to the Left it’s only humans that are responsible for the CO2 level.
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Claim: Anthropogenic Global Warming Could Lead to a New Ice Age
Essay by Eric Worrall
(A selected extract)
Never mind that Earth has endured far more warming than today’s world without revisiting the extremes of the ancient past.
Terrific piece of alarmist writing. After talking about snowball Earth for most of the article, they finally admit near the end that any future ice age overshoot will be less extreme because today’s world has higher oxygen levels in the atmosphere.
But if the current warming trend falters or even flips into a decline, like global temperature declined between 1940 and 1970, see they predicted it. It’s still all our fault.
The following is an episode of the wildly popular “In search of” series, featuring Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played the original Star Trek Doctor Spock. (See the Weblink below)
In Search Of The Coming Ice Age features an impressive lineup of credentialed global cooling scientists, some of whom blamed global cooling on human industrial activity. One of the scientists, Stephen Schneider, who in the In Search Of episode advocated using nuclear reactors to melt the polar ice, shamelessly backflipped into warning people about global warming, which he blamed on human industrial activity. The Wikipedia article on Schneider claims Schneider backflipped in the early 1970s, but if so, why did he appear in the 1978 documentary advocating melting the polar ice caps?
I remembered watching In Search Of The Coming Ice Age as a kid in the late 70s. All the grownups were concerned, there was a lot of ice age alarmism in the media, quotes from concerned scientists, before the show was aired. The adults talked for days after the In Search Of episode aired, about how they would cope with the coming ice age, which everyone expected to happen in the next few decades. Everyone was worried about a how Australia could handle the expected flood of refugees escaping the advancing ice in the Northern Hemisphere, especially refugees from the Soviet Union.
Dubious claims there was no global cooling consensus in the 1970s naturally leads people my age to question other alarmist claims – even more so when some alarmists like the people who wrote the article above start resurrecting global cooling claims.
All still our fault of course.
More at –
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/12/22/claim-anthropogenic-global-warming-could-lead-to-a-new-ice-age/
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The graph shows the stark reality of no correlation between atmospheric Temp and co2. It’s middle school math. But we don’t need millions of years to see the noncorrelation. Just the 20th century will do.
Early 20th century saw warming up through the 1930s. During WWII the Germans sent raiders into the Pacific via the Arctic Ocean and through the Bering Strait. This was followed by decades of cooling. Remember the 1970s and the next ice age scare, with the Spock narrated doc?
No correlation.
Several years ago one of my brothers asked me how the alarmists justified their positions. When I told him about their theories of positive feedback and the hot spot, he almost fell on the floor laughing.
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SO a plague of phytoplankton breaks out. But what happens once CO2 levels return to 420 ppm? As Jo has pointed out phytoplankton have a miniscule life time compared to global warming/cooling time frames. Days compared to decades. The phytoplankton population would equilibrate essentially instantly according to global warming/cooling time frames. That means the phytoplankton population is always effectively in equilibrium and one cannot argue the phytoplankton population remains raised because of the higher starting point of CO2. If 420 ppm is enough to maintain the plague then its also enough to start a plague so where is it? Also, if the argument is the CO2 is effectively sequestered by the phytoplankton, how is that different from it being sequestered in the coal and oil we are currently using. Seems to me the claimed sequestering in dead phytoplankton is the first step in our planet making more coal and oil.
If they are going to put everything down to feedbacks (always positive of course) isn’t it about time some of these alarmists learn at least a smattering of control theory?
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