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Earth had a climate long before we showed up and started noticing it and it's influenced by a whole series of cycles that have been churning along for hundreds of millions of years. In most cases those cycles will continue long after we're gone. A look at the history of climate change on Earth can give us some much needed perspective on our current climate dilemma because the surprising truth is, what we're experiencing now is different than anything this planet has encountered before. So, let's take a stroll down Climate History Lane and see if we can find some answers to a question that's been bugging Hank a lot lately - just how much hot water are we in?

Earth had a climate long before we showed up and started noticing it and it's influenced by a whole series of cycles that have been churning along for hundreds of millions of years. In most cases those cycles will continue long after we're gone. A look at the history of climate change on Earth can give us some much needed perspective on our current climate dilemma because the surprising truth is, what we're experiencing now is different than anything this planet has encountered before. So, let's take a stroll down Climate History Lane and see if we can find some answers to a question that's been bugging Hank a lot lately - just how much hot water are we in?

"Welcome to the Environmental History Timeline - This is an independent project by an American scholar. Its purpose is to remind ourselves that: Environmental issues have surfaced throughout human history. "

"China's history of battling energy waste"

"Batteries are so ubiquitous today that they're almost invisible to us. Yet they are a remarkable invention with a long and storied history, and an equally exciting future. A battery is essentially a device that stores chemical energy that is converted into electricity. Basically, batteries are small chemical reactors, with the reaction producing energetic electrons, ready to flow through the external device. Batteries have been with us for a long time. In 1938 the Director of the Baghdad Museum found what is now referred to as the "Baghdad Battery" in the basement of the museum. Analysis dated it at around 250BC and of Mesopotamian origin."

"Sometimes the path of less can be a lonely one. All around us, we are barraged with messages of more: Buy more, have more, do more. Yet the way of less is path trodden by some of the best minds throughout history."

"Many times in human history governments have tried to write policies based around future technologies and missed identifying the transformational keys. In the 1970s, for example, few if any horizon-scanning policies on communications predicted the internet or mobile phones. Yet scientists are increasingly unified in the need to develop new technologies to address the critical problems now facing us in fields such as energy and climate change."

"The World Meteorological Organization just released its Global Climate Report (pdf), which wastes no time in announcing a stark truth. The report's first sentence: "The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest decade recorded since modern measurements began around 1850." Nine out of ten years between 2001 and 2010 were among the ten warmest in recorded history, according to the report, and the warmest year to date was 2010. For those worried about glacier melting, the heat spike wasn't isolated to land. The decade was warmest for both land and ocean surface temperatures. In case anyone still doubts the existence of global warming, take a gander at this chart:"

"There are signs the climate movement could be on the verge of a remarkable and surprising victory.  If we read the current context correctly, and if the movement can adjust its strategy to capture the opportunity presented, it could usher in the fastest and most dramatic economic transformation in history. This would include the removal of the oil, coal and gas industries from the economy in just a few decades and their replacement with new industries and, for the most part, entirely new companies. It would be the greatest transfer of wealth and power between industries and countries the world has ever seen."

Welcome to the Anthropocene is a website which is designed to improve our collective understanding of the Earth system. The site aims to inspire, educate and engage people about humanity's impact on Earth. Its unique combination of high-level scientific data and powerful imagery will help people visualize and better understand humanity's geographic imprint in recent time. Watch a 3-minute journey through the last 250 years of our history, from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the Rio+20 Summit. The film charts the growth of humanity into a global force on an equivalent scale to major geological processes.

Investment in renewable energy infrastructure is outstripping that for fossil fuels. Investment was equal in 2008, but the balance has swung since. During 2011, globally, $40 billion was invested in fossil fuels. $260 billion was invested in renewables.  In the past year the price of photo voltaic cells has dropped by 50%. Peter Newman describes the growth of investment in renewable as exponential. He says we are living through one of the most dramatic periods in history as fossil fuels are being phased out.

"Hawkesdale P12 College is a small, rural school of about 230 students from prep to year 12, located about 15 kilometres north west of the Macarthur Wind Farm, in SW Victoria. We have a history of excellent results at VCE level, award-winning teachers and an innovative ICT program. This letter is seeking support for our education for sustainability programs, specifically to allow the VCE Environmental Science class of 2014 to attend the Actions for Earth Global Youth Summit in January."

"Global greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels reached the highest levels in human history last year, driven predominantly by Chinese growth, and are projected to surge even further in 2013. New data from the Global Carbon Project - a team of international scientists who track global emissions - finds carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels and making cement grew 2.2 per cent in 2012 from the previous year. In 2013 a further 2.1 per cent rise is expected. But the latest data suggests the world's emissions could be slowing. The approximate 2 per cent growth in 2012 and 2013 falls short of the 3.1 per cent average annual rise since 2000. CSIRO climate scientist Dr Pep Canadell - who is also executive director of the Global Carbon Project - told Fairfax Media the emissions rates of the past two years could be the tentative signs of a global slow down."

"The Earth's climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era - and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth's orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives."

"More than 1,500 barrels of crude oil per day gushed from the "Jake" oil well when EOG Resources drilled and fracked the well into the Niobrara shale in northern Colorado in the fall of 2009. That gusher marked the beginning of one of the biggest oil booms in the state's history, part of a larger shale oil rush playing out in Colorado, Texas, North Dakota and elsewhere today making the U.S. the world's leader in oil production this year. Those booming shale oil and gas plays are all successful because of advances in fracking and horizontal drilling technology and the speed with which companies are drilling new wells. In some regions, the booms are playing out near homes and schools in suburban areas, particularly in Colorado, where they contribute to widespread concern about climate change-driving methane leaks, air pollution, groundwater contamination and the industrialization of residential areas."

"There are only a few topics that seem less obvious but more hotly debated than climate change. It's here, it's happening, it's caused by humanity, and it is one of the largest problems humanity will ever face. But I believe we will face it, and we'll face it with the desperate ingenuity and bravado with which we have faced our entire history on this planet. And we will survive it, as long as we can finally freaking agree that "it" isn't a conspiracy theory made up to annoy the rich and powerful."

"Our ability to harness ever-expanding amounts of data is completely transforming our understanding of environmental problems and solutions. Our Climate Insights blog series leverages data from CAIT 2.0, WRI's climate data explorer, to shed light on the many dimensions of climate change that shape society, policy, and global development."

Climate Kids is NASA's climate change website for kids. On Climate Kids you will find a nice selection of online games and hands-on activities for students. Some of the topics that the Climate Kids online games address include recycling, renewable energy, and climate history.

Good one - thanks, John! m

"Bursting the carbon bubble"

"The peak oil myth"

"The Story of Easter Island"