I understand the difference between correlation and causation. C02 levels have been extremely high in certain extremely warm periods over the last 60 to 100 million years. Is that simply correlation rather than causation? Possibly. And if that's true then what caused the warm interglacial periods (such as the one we're in now)? The only constant between those periods seems to be the high levels of atmospheric C02, often caused by increased volcanic activity. And, in our current inter-glacial period, why is the earth warming at a rate that took thousands of years to reach in past inter-glacial periods and why is the temperature increasing faster in the past 150 years than ever before, and why is the rate of acceleration increasing yearly?

The planet is complex and it may be impossible to make correct predictions of what the next 10, 50, or 100 years will bring but increasing levels of C02 is, yet again, a constant in relation to past inter-glacial periods.

Maybe we can't and won't know until we reach those points in the future but regardless of our limited ability to accurately predict the future, fossil fuels are poisoning the planet, including acidifying the oceans, and are limited in quantity so doesn't it make sense to address that issue now rather than waiting and learning the hard way that the cause of accelerated warming is, indeed, the vast amount of C02 being dumped into the atmosphere? Major oil companies are well aware that fossil fuels are a dying industry and are experimenting with sustainable fuels (they 'own' much of our government and are loath to give up such power).