![Holocene_Temperature_Variations_Rev[1]](https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/holocene_temperature_variations_rev1.png?quality=75)
Excerpt from “Hello Anthropocene, Goodbye Holocene”:
: “As the official timescale keepers deliberate the introduction of the Anthropocene and a Holocene-Anthropocene boundary (Anthropocene Working Group of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy; Zalasiewicz, J., M. et al., 2010; http://goo.gl/wIm6X0 ), they should consider the alternative: Remove the Holocene Epoch from the geologic timescale. Whereas any timescale change is a contentious issue, let alone changes to an existing epoch, modern human society’s interactions with its planet and ecosystems, embodied by the Anthropocene, are sufficiently large to produce a lasting geologic marker that supports such modification. This new boundary would remain visible in the geologic record of oceans and continents (see also Corcoran et al., 2014 on plastics), meeting the stratigraphic requirements that ultimately underlie the timescale and marking a shift from the Pleistocene’s Milankovitch forcing to the Anthropocene’s human forcing.
The Holocene is a climate-centric placeholder for change after the latest Quaternary glaciation, but does not, as defined, match the accelerated changes in land, ocean and atmosphere that mark modern times. So, I suggest that (a) we remove the Holocene altogether in favor of a (young) Anthropocene Epoch that reflects planet-wide geologic changes since c. 1900 CE, or (b) we demote the Holocene to Stage/Age status, marking the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. The latter, perhaps more palatable compromise, would recognize historical precedent and allow continued use of Holocene in the literature as a temporal (“Age”) marker. Regardless, slicing the Quaternary Period in ever thinner epochs has no geologic merit. Given the degree and impact of modern, human-induced changes on our planet, a young Pleistocene-Anthropocene boundary seems justified.”
The journal titled The Holocene probably isn’t going to like this idea.
The fact is the tiny 0.7C recovery since the end of the Little Ice Age in ~1850, which is coincidentally when the global temperature record begins, could easily be natural and 95% explained by solar activity and ocean oscillations, and is not unprecedented or unusual within the past ~10,000 years of the Holocene Epoch. Thousands of paleoclimate papers show the Medieval, Roman, Egyptian, Minoan, and multiple other unnamed warm periods within the Holocene were warmer than the present. In addition, the Pacific Ocean has been significantly warmer than the present throughout vast majority of the Holocene.
Further, during the last interglacial ~120,000 years ago, Greenland was up to 8C warmer than the current interglacial warm period, and sea levels were up to 29 feet higher. Therefore, there is no evidence that warmth during the current interglacial warm period is unprecedented, unusual, or unnatural.
Therefore, there is no valid reason whatsoever to remove the Holocene Epoch “blip” from the geological timescale, despite how convenient it would be for the climate propagandists. Kinda bad timing too promoting the silly Anthropocene/Mannocene notion that man-made CO2 controls the climate given the 50+ excuses for the absence of global warming for the past 18-26 years despite a steady rise in CO2.
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| GISP2 Greenland ice core data in blue, the tiny 0.7C “Anthropocene” warming of HADCRU sea surface temperatures to present-day shown in red spliced at end |
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| Above GISP2 Greenland ice core data with labeled warm periods |
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| Present Greenland temperatures haves been exceeded many times over past 4000 yrs Full paper |
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| Temperatures during the last interglacial period ~120,000 years ago [and several other interglacials] were higher than during the present interglacial period. |
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| Holocene Epoch shown at lower right, as well as the lack of correlation on geologic timescales between CO2 and temperature. |
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| On geologic timescales, we are still in an ice age, because there are ice sheets present at both poles |
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The article referenced in the link indicates 79 foot higher sea levels, but the text of link indicates 29. Both make today’s rising concerns seem rather silly, but I am curious as to which it is: “Further, during the last interglacial ~120,000 years ago, Greenland was up to 8C warmer than the current interglacial warm period, and sea levels were up to 29 feet higher.”
“1900 CE” …do these people based this on the bible?
Rather than just airbrushing out previous eras when Gaia was hot and frisky, why not pay a little visit to that discreet little shop in town?
http://thepointman.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/the-pause/
Pointman
We are drowning, drowning in nonsense! We’ll send 3,000 troops to fight ebola but only 300 to fight ISIL. Mods, if this is OT I’ll forgive you.
your president, secretary of state, and heads of the military have all announced the climate change is the greatest threat facing the US. because of course the results of fighting this enemy will only be seen long after everyone involved has retired.
IS, Ebola, forget about it. these problems will have immediate results and thus no one wants to fight them, lest their failures become all too evident. it is all about ass covering. that is the real problem they are trying to solve.
In my readings over the years evolutionists hide data, Baptists ignore data, and our society as a whole in the US is so politically oriented, We have lost evaluation judgment. We, in a way have become tribal and the Elite of the Washington Beltway do as they wish.
What data have “evolutionists” ever hidden? Creationism OTOH is based solely on lies. Evolution is an observed fact and a well-supported body of theory, like gravitation, plate tectonics, the atomic theory of matter and the germ theory of disease. The repeatedly falsified conjecture (not even a valid hypothesis) of catastrophic man-made climate change is neither.
What’s so offensive about Creationism or Intelligent Design, if one recognizes that evolution is the process by which it is accomplished?
I guess this is part of “improving the communication” that’s discussed about so much.
As George Santayana said
“Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Some ‘Climate Scientists’ have no higher ambition than to reduce the population of the world to a state ignorant infancy in which they will become the new shamans. Opposition will then become not just ‘denial’ but blasphemy,
They should recall the final option of the downtrodden ‘A bas les aristocrates. A la lanterne ‘
Reblogged this on Centinel2012 and commented:
Before they are done the entire history of the world will be rewritten and this time will be known as the time that science was eliminated and replaced with propaganda.
Reblogged this on gottadobetterthanthis and commented:
Data, not models.
Scotese has had this, http://www.scotese.com/climate.htm, posted without change since 2002. He had it the same before, but added the light-gray line at the top (recent time). I suppose he was pressured by the alarmists.
Anyway, one of my favorites quotes:
“During the last 2 billion years the Earth’s climate has alternated between a frigid “Ice House”, like today’s world, and a steaming “Hot House”, like the world of the dinosaurs.”
Dr. C. R. Scotese
Cold kills. Warmer is better. (Ask the dinosaurs.)
“[…] a shift from the Pleistocene’s Milankovitch forcing to the Anthropocene’s human forcing”
Milankovitch forcing supposedly OBSolete due to anthropogenic CO2 ???
Name the current political epoch:
The OBScene — an era when OBServations meant SFA (sweet f*** all).
in shorthand:
“The OBS”
where “O” = obsessive
and “BS” = BS (bullsh*t)
Better yet:
Let’s simply call it:
“The BS-cene”
If Milankovitch forcing is supposedly now subordinate to anthropogenic CO2, we’re definitely in the political BS-cene.
Has anyone informed the natural climate cycles the have been let go?
symptomatic of the mistaken belief that mankind is the center of the universe.
Their obsessive-compulsive anthropomorphism is a poor disguise for obsessive-compulsive misanthropy, which and threatens to pull a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde act at any moment.
Lets face it, the only way this type of stupidity is ever going to end is if we enter a new little ice age. Even then, I don’t doubt that there would be droves of climate scientists scrambling for grant money to prove how horrible and disastrous the warming will be once the “slight pause” in global warming ends. They wont be able to use climate change at that point because the climate would have changed against them, so they will return to using global warming.
I tend to agree with you on this.
With the exception of the planet at its birth and sometime after, and its predicted fiery demise when the Sun becomes a red giant, has there ever been a period too warm to support life?
Come to think of it, could average temperature of these hot end points, and all of the ice ages i between constitute an “equilibrium”?
Simply eliminate the Holocene from the record? Up to what date, 4004 BCE? Step by step they are inching towards Creationism to support their belief system.
I’ve got a better idea–forget ‘Anthropene’ as a geologic term altogether. If you consider the vast number of geologic events that left impacts on the Earth (Ice Ages, volcanic activity, tectonic events, etc) and compare it to the discernible, lasting impact of humans it’s laughable–what manmade, significant effect can you now see on Earth beyond the pyramids, Myan ruins, and Mt. Rushmore? Well, maybe the Panama canal, but is that worth naming a 10,000 year epoch after? Man is the flea on an elephant’s back–we’re just along for the ride. Humans have had virtually no lasting effect on the geologic record.
“The Holocene is a climate-centric placeholder for change after the latest Quaternary glaciation, but does not, as defined, match the accelerated changes in land, ocean and atmosphere that mark modern times.” Whoever wrote this is not only uninformed, they are just plain stupid! They want to redo the geologic time scale on this basis?
Is there no end to the climate dogma?
The “Panamacene”? 🙂
Perhaps the Arrogantscene?
Thank you Don! I was thinking this myself. What happens to our present world civilization in say 1000 years should we have a complete and utter civilization scale failure? What happens to all the superstructures of steel like suspension bridges and sky scrapers? Should the earth decide to go earth quake and volcanic on us followed by a good ice age, all the works of mankind shall be scraped, crushed, rusted and buried to oblivion. I have been in the New York City subways a lot the past five years, and I have to say as a professional builder I saw the underbelly of NYC simply rusting away, Anthropocene, or whatever “they” are toying with is just stupid and just another fabrication to keep the CAGW scam narrative alive while the earth is cooling….
I’ve never heard such a load of balls in my life
They can have the Holocene as long as they leave the Pleistocene alone, I have more relatives there.
HH Lamb would turn in his grave
http://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2014/09/15/hh-lamb-sea-level-changes/
Thanks, Paul.
Centinel2012: September 16, 2014 at 4:55 am
“….. and this time will be known as the time that science was eliminated and replaced with propaganda.”
———————–
Just another “repeat of history”, ….. like was the burning of the Library of Alexandria and thus all science was eliminated and replaced with Religious propaganda ….. and the subsequent 1,500+ years of what is now referred to as The Dark Ages.
And even though the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment reestablished science to its rightful place, there are, to this very day, tens of millions of individuals that believes in and/or adheres to the Religious doctrine that had its origin at the beginning of said Dark Ages.
I cannot think of anything that exemplifies hubris, arrogance, conceit or self-importance more than the term “Anthropocene”. The concept is truly laughable and pathetic.
Homo Sapiens Sapiens, maybe?
How about Homo not so Sapiens?
As Orwell noted, revising the past is so much easier than being truthful.
As with Team IPCC ™, unable to produce any scientific evidence for their policies, after all these years of policy based evidence manufacturing, they have reverted to that tried and true tool of Statists; Rewrite History.
The Age of Unreason .
I have wondered if the reality of our place in the Cosmos has made too many people believe they are so insignificant that they should give up now.
We are so insignificant in the face of natural events here on earth, that we seem too timid to tackle getting up out of this gravity well. Instead we have reverted to breast beating, delusion and waiting for the Asteroid.
Maybe those photo’s of this blue/green planet from the Apollo Era, had the opposite effect on our “Progressive” friends, I wanted to get out there, had great confidence we would, instead we have huddled in terror building an unsustainable welfare cocoon, where we bore our children to tears and supply them drugs to dull their boredom.
Is there a connection between the vastness of reality and our cringing self despite?
When did “I do not know”, become a mark of shame rather than wisdom?
I am at a loss between two Einstein quotes on this one:
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein
or
“The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits.”
― Albert Einstein
lol, thanks!
I personally would like to eliminate all musical history starting right about the time disco was introduced.
One can only dream, kind of like certain climate scientists do.
I´m for removing the Holocene from the nomenclature, because it refers to the last 2.6 million years, the period of ice ages alternating with short term warmer interglacials. Eventually we will have another ice age, and the cycle should repeat until the continents move around.
Using the term anthropocene sounds a bit premature.
I meant it refers to the tiny tail end of the Pleistocene. THere´s no need to name a geologic time period when it´s so short and there´s no significant change in the overal planet´s condition.
Please see my comment below, advocating the same.
I always liked Wilson’s “Magpies of Picardy”, the penultimate stanza of which reads:
“He said that still through chaos
Works on the ancient plan,
And two things have altered not
Since first the world began—
The beauty of the wild green earth
And the bravery of man.”
Now the verse needs amended to read: “The power of the wild blue earth and the brevity of man”.