00:00Scientists confirm, Earth is gradually tilting toward its next ice age.
00:06Earth's climate oscillates between warm and cold periods over thousands of years.
00:11Currently, we're edging toward another ice age.
00:14However, human activities could disrupt this natural cycle,
00:18altering Earth's climatic stability and progression.
00:21For millions of years, ice ages were driven by Earth's orbital shifts.
00:26However, human activities like burning fossil fuels could delay or cancel the next ice age,
00:32potentially overriding long-standing natural cycles and pushing the climate into uncharted territory.
00:38Earth's orbit tilt and rotation shifts, known as Milankovitch cycles, influence long-term climate patterns.
00:46These changes affect sunlight distribution, impacting seasons and cooling.
00:51Earth's current phase suggests another ice age might occur in 10,000 years, driven by these shifts.
00:57Scientists analyze past climate records, like ice cores and sediments, to predict future trends.
01:03Ice ages, occurring every 100,000 years, alternate with warm interglacials.
01:09The last ice age ended 12,000 years ago, suggesting another in 10,000 years.
01:15Yet, this timeline is uncertain, as human activities now significantly influence these natural cycles.
01:25Before the Industrial Revolution, Earth's climate was stable.
01:29Greenhouse gases fluctuated within limits.
01:31But over the last two centuries, fossil fuel combustion has increased carbon dioxide and methane, trapping more atmospheric heat.
01:39Human-driven climate change might delay or prevent the next ice age by keeping greenhouse gas levels high,
01:46preventing global temperature drops needed for ice sheet growth, thereby disrupting Earth's climate cycle that has persisted for millions of years.
01:54Canceling ice ages could reshape ecosystems, causing rising sea levels, storms, and weather shifts affecting resources.
02:05Scientists study trends, acknowledging human impact.
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