Aren't We Just Coming Out Of an Ice Age?

The short answer is, yes.  However, that one short question, and even shorter answer, do almost nothing to explain the current situation with global warming.  The rapid increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases within the atmosphere are leading to increases in the earth's surface temperature, and temperatures of the lower atmosphere, that go far beyond those found that can be attributed to natural variability.  The intergovernmental panel on climate change has predicted that the current trends in emissions continue during this century, the Earth's surface air temperature will increase between 1.4 and 5.8°C.    It is worth pointing out that the above temperature changes are not simply changes in weather temperatures, which typically range by as much as 30 to 40° centigrade throughout the year. When you consider that a decrease in the Earth's surface temperature by a similar margin would likely result in an ice age with a mile of ice over Europe, we can see that such temperature changes will have significant impact on the earth.
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