Interglacial Period

The current glacial age (i.e. ice age) began 2.6 million years ago when the Earth wobbled in its orbit around the sun.  Since then, the Earth has undergone glacial periods - where the ice expands from the poles - and interglacial periods - when the ice retreats back to the poles.  The current interglacial period began approximately 12 thousand years ago.  However, during that glacial period, sufficient water had been turned to ice so that the sea levels were 350 feet lower than today.  This meant that the English Channel was dry and crossable.  Siberia and Alaska were connected and allowed for cross-migration between North America and Asia.  The camel evolved in North America but migrated to Asia, where it still exists.  It died out here though its cousins - llamas and alpacas - still flourish in South America.  Of course, humans made their way to North America as well.  But the ice melted and the sea levels rose drastically.  What caused all that warming?  Not fossil fuels.

During the glacial periods, the ice has extended over much of Europe, the whole of Canada, all the Great Lakes and into the Midwest.  When there are no longer ice sheets covering the poles and Greenland, it will signal the end of the current ice age.  With that in mind, I came across the following:

http://www.climatedepot.com/2013/09/14/earth-gains-a-record-amount-of-sea-ice-in-2013-earth-has-gained-19000-manhattans-of-sea-ice-since-this-date-last-year-the-largest-increase-on-record/

Record ice growth of 19,000 Manhattan islands.  That's a lot of ice.  Hardly what you would expect during global warming.  The Earth has experience dramatic warming during the past 12,000 years, most of it long before mankind burned any fossil fuels.  Moreover, the Earth has been much warmer than it is today.  When dinosaurs roamed, the tropics extended as far north as North Dakota.  Looking at the geological record, the Earth is far more likely to go into another glacial period than to experience endless heat waves.  There is a reason that Al Gore talks of Climate Crisis rather than Global Warming now.