Back in 1972, climate scientists were concerned that the present warm period was about to end, and that the world was headed into a new ice age. They predicted that "a global deterioration of climate, by an order of magnitude larger than any hitherto experienced by civilized mankind, is a very real possibility and indeed may be due very soon."

"For millions of years, the geologic record shows, Earth has experienced an ongoing cycle of ice ages, each typically lasting about 100,000 years, and each punctuated by briefer, warmer periods called interglacials, such as the one we are now in. This ongoing cycle closely matches cyclic variations in Earth's orbit around the sun."

Current research shows that a brief period of global warming always precedes an ice age.

"None of us expected uninterrupted continuation of the [cooling] trend... I feel we're on pretty solid ground in interpreting orbit around the sun as the primary driving force behind ice-age glaciation. The relationship is just too clear and consistent to allow reasonable doubt."

Other scientists have shown that the temperature dip of the 1970s was related to reduced solar activity, and predict that we will be moving into a new "Little Ice Age" by 2030 based on historic analysis of solar cycle activity and temperature records.

See: Canadian National Post article (2007-06)