Does anyone born before the 80s remember the theory of Global Ice age?

Question

Recently I keep hearing people talk about how people were talking about global ice age. As far as I know, Environmentalist supported the green house effect instead and talked about how the Antartica was melting back inthe 70's . Is my impression of what the 70's incorrect or that these are just kids pulling something esoteric to disprove the green house effect. If your under 40 please state your age , because I rather get my information from someone who lived through it.

Answer 1

Back in the seventies it was global cooling.  The Newsweek article from April 28, 1975 is here:

http://denisdutton.com/newsweek_coolingw...

But there are articles going back a hundred years that talk about heating and cooling.

Global cooling is far more frightening than warming, because crops fail, people freeze, heating costs go up, etc.  And it seems inevitable if past cycles continue through into the future.

The only problem is that cooling is not blamed on mankind.  That is why warming got so much attention.

Answer 2

Yes, in the mid to late 70's, the in thing was talking about global cooling. Funny how every time the weather changes, the media blows it into a global killing issue. And yet the earth continues to spin around day after day.

Answer 3

yeah Im 38 and they tought us we were heading for another ice age, but that was then this is now.

Answer 4

We were all going to freeze to death.

Answer 5

There never was such a scientific consensus.

http://www.wmconnolley.org.uk/sci/iceage...

Answer 6

let's see.

i'm 66.

you'll note that all the "it ain't happening" comes from folks who you shouldn't trust.

it certainly was not a major topic.

there was mention, but not like this.

in addition, the science today is far more advanced, so it's easier to take measurements.

and to create computer models.

which are, btw, pretty accurate.

it's my guess that the deniers are driven by one or more of several fears:

--  they're gonna take my SUV away.

--  they're gonna make gasoline $10 a gallon.

(that's probably true, but not because of this.)

--  they're gonna raise my taxes.

(that's also probably true, because of this.)

--  it's a global scientific community conspiracy to get more money for climate research.

(somebody's gotta change bed sheets and dig ditches.  it's a good thing there are stupid people in this world.  it's unfortunate, however, that they get to vote.)

AND, i suspect that some are paid by the energy industry to go and spread doubt.  i didn't use to think so, but i'm changing my mind.  i sure hope one of 'em contacts me and let's me in on the deal.  i could use a job.  ;-)

Answer 7

idk

Answer 8

From what i've heard, there were some papers published on global cooling, but the majority were ivestigating warming.

Bear in mind that was over 30 years ago, technology has advanced greatly since then.

Answer 9

if not for global warming, the record of the past climates preserved in ice sheets would lead us to expect another ice age in a few thousand years or so... i'm not old enough to remember the 70s very well but i do remember reading this some time in the early 80s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ice_War...

that is about as serious as the ice age predictions ever got as far as i know.

Answer 10

I was in high school and college in 1970s.

There was some talk of a new ice age, but nothing like the hysteria we see today about global warming. Nothing like that at all! And there was some talk about how all the CO2 we were putting into the air would probably cause enough warming to counteract any impending ice age. But it was all low key and not a big topic of discussion, even between scientists. Ozone depletion and regular smog and other kinds of pollution was a MUCH bigger topic, both in the news and by scientists.

Answer 11

you should be able to find articles about it if you have access to old national geographic, time magazine, science digest or popular science magazines. it seems like it was the early to mid 70s to me,but it may have been the late 60s.

it was based on the average length of interglacial periods & how this one should already be ending since it had already lasted longer than  the others.

there were various plans to counter it such as covering the ice in the arctic regions with lamp black to reflect less sunlight & several others but these were just speculative, no one suggested we act on them.

it was also thought the earths population had reached the limit of the earths capacity to feed us & any cooling would cause widespread starvation.

this was at the begining of bio engineering to create more productive crops. I believe rice was one of the first improved food crops at about this time.

there were also a lot of articles about how the arabs would own America by 1990 because of their control of our oil supply. it was thought our domestic oil would be completely exhausted by the 90s.

Answer 12

The talk about cooling happened in 1972, I believe.  From what I have read recently, it sounds like there were only a handful of scientists involved.  The lead scientitst recanted in 1975, admitting that he had under estimated the amount of CO2.

  I remember having discussions about global warming as early as 1975. Cooling was not a topic in the late 70s, as someone else here said.

  http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

"In the 1970s, there was a book in the popular press, a few articles in popular magazines, and a small amount of scientific speculation based on the recently discovered glacial cycles and the recent slight cooling trend from air pollution blocking the sunlight. There were no daily headlines. There was no avalanche of scientific articles. There were no United Nations treaties or commissions. No G8 summits on the dangers and possible solutions. No institutional pronouncements. You could find broader "consensus" on a coming alien invasion."

Answer 13

There were a few studies discussing the cooling theory, a minority, but yeah there were some. It was the newspapers that were claiming "consensus" back then that was frightening. The news loves a catastrophe.

Answer 14

Here are the facts:

A few scientists were predicting global cooling based on a lack of understanding of the Earth's oribtal (Milankovitch) cycles and an incomplete surface temperature record.

Most scientists were predicting global warming based on increasing CO2 from humans burning fossil fuels.  James Hansen, currently the head of NASA GISS first predicted anthropogenic global warming in 1967.  The National Academy of Sciences stated in 1979 that there was a scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming.

A recent study showed that from 1965-1979, 44 papers predicted global warming and 7 predicted cooling.

http://yahoo.usatoday.com/weather/climat...

So basically this whole 'scientists predicted global cooling' c**p we keep hearing from the 'skeptics' and deniers is yet another myth, based on one article in Newsweek, which is not even a scientific journal.

Of course, deniers always seem to put more credence in what the media says than what scientific journals say.

Answer 15

Age 49

I certainly don't remember being taught this as a scientifically supported fact, but as a theory with mainly media support.

Many of the myths and lies of the deniers are covered here including the cooling theory.

The wiki link also has quite good info.

Answer 16

Yes it's true.  We were taught in school that the scientists thought that the Earth was entering into another ice age.

No one freaked or panicked over it.  It was just nature and we would deal with it.  

"Global Warming" is a 1990's thing.