Global Temperature Map
Two driving forces for variations in global temperature are sunspot and volcanic activity. With a current dearth of sunspots and many volcano's erupting worldwide, global freezing could occur.
Some scientists have argued that increased CO2 levels have caused global warming, but from the graphs I've seen, it appears to me that CO2 levels FOLLOW global warming. What is self evident is that during periods of warming mankind has prosperous times. If you look at the attached map, the cold periods have been increasing in size and duration. We can only hope that the current sunspot and volcanic trends are not an indicator of a new colder period that is deeper and longer than the Little Ice Age.
Until recently, global temperatures were more than a degree Fahrenheit warmer when compared to the overall 20th Century mean. From August of 2007 through February of 2008, the Earth’s mean reading dropped to near the 200-year average temperature of 57 degrees.
