As a species, humans like it cold.
Even now, we live in an “ice age.” Though the term may bring to mind saber-toothed cats and woolly mammoths, such ages are defined by ice caps at the poles. And for most of its 4.6-billion-year history, our planet was too warm — sometimes far too warm — for polar ice.
For more eons than not, Earth has ranged from steamy to downright hellish.
A look back at Earth’s history shows us how fragile and fleeting our current moment is. Between its fiery infancy and its (for now) chilly present, Earth’s climate has taken many forms.
Learning why Earth’s climate changed in the past — and what happened to life when it did — can help us understand where we are today. We know our species evolved in the cold. Yet human-caused warming has set our planet onto a hot new path.
What can the past teach us about where we might be headed?
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