I understand the inclination to be skeptical.
But I reported on the Indian/Asia factor in global climate issues weeks ago.
This is not a “pet idea” of some Creationists… it’s “rock solid” science (pun intended!) that the Creationists have just turned to their favor.
Prior to the collision of India with Asia, the Earth generally had higher levels of CO2. And there was also a current that cut from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice versa?) between North and South America.
But the combination of closing the Panama outlet (forcing massive current cycles in the Atlantic that exchanged heat and cold efficiently North to South and back), and a continued “draw down” on the Earth’s CO2 levels triggered a very novel situation for some 800,000 years!:
Driven by the triple Milankovitch Cycles, the Earth experienced 8 glaciations in 800,000 years. What was striking about these glaciations was that the CO2 levels changed by a very small amount … indicating that the Earth had achieved such a low level of C02, that small swings in CO2 would push “the bubble” back and forth from Glaciation to inter-Glaciation.
CO2 levels down to 180 ppm was enough to put mile-high glaciers sitting on top of what is now Manhattan, while levels up to 280 ppm was enough to melt those same glaciers.
Here is a well known chart showing these swings (for the last 400,000 years):
Epilogue:
Unfortunately, human-produced CO2 levels have now exceeded 400 ppm, which means the “on the bubble” swing of 180 to 280 back to 180 is now swamped out.
We are now on our way to Jurassic levels of CO2 (which presumably will melt away the 3rd pole on the plateau of the Himalays…
Perhaps if the Ga-Billionaire Koch brothers could be prevailed upon to build a second fortune on break-through technologies in Carbon-Fixing (capturing atmospheric CO2) … they could make another fortune while at the same time saving the planet …