A Geologic Perspective on Climate Change

ABSTRACT Climate change is a contemporary issue that significantly influences social, scientific, and political discussions worldwide. The rise in greenhouse gas emissions is linked to global warming, which is often perceived as a direct result of human activities. However, throughout Earth's geological history, global warming has occurred at various intervals, sometimes leading to catastrophic mass extinctions. Notably, the most significant mass extinction event at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary occurred before the arrival of human beings. Three arguments grounded in geological principles illustrate that global warming has transpired in the past and will likely continue in the future. Humanity is only a minor additive to this phenomenon; rather, it is the broader geological processes that operate through time and space that unfold over time across different regions that could be the root cause. We are presently in an interglacial period that has not yet reached completion, and humanity will probably experience warmer conditions in the future, regardless of human influence. Key words: IPCC, Geology, Carbon-Dioxide, Anthropocene, Global Temperature, Oxygen, Oceanic Anoxic Events, Mass extinction