Interesting and disturbing post Sierra, thanks for starting the thread.
Looks to me that life as we know it on Earth depends on overall operating within fairly well defined temperature ranges.
The February global temperature record, plus the current heatwave at the North Pole, as reported by the BBC, suggests the boundaries are nearly being tested.
The BBC reported North Pole temperatures now are around 20 degrees C above normal, a repetition of what was seen exactly a year ago.
Logic suggests these events might be caused by something.
Climate scientists, who might be regarded as experts in the field, and rationalists who take their lead from them say this is known as anthropogenic global warming and is caused by the effect from increased emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
