Has anyone bothered to look at the geological history of this planet? From what I've seen, the climate is constantly cycling warm and cold, and land features are constantly changing.

Yes it's true that throughout earth's history global climates have always fluctuated up and down. The reason global warming is such a concern is not that the climate IS fluctuating, but the RATE at which it is fluctuating. Never before have temperatures on earth increased to such a degree as quickly as they are now. The ice caps are melting, raising ocean levels and infusing large ocean currents with cold water. Ironically enough, because of this influx of cold water, an ice age could result in as little as a decade.

Jen,

1. There is no proof of this.

2. The entire North Pole could melt, and the ocean's would not raise at all.

Where is your proof that oceans wouldn't rise if the ice caps melted? Where exactly would all that additional water go? Even if you're a conservative, there is Biblical 'proof' that sea levels can and do rise (Noah and the flood). It's a fact that ocean levels rise and fall and coastlines change. Why deny it, just because you haven't seen it occur during your lifetime? Here's a really good website that goes into actual scientific evidence, if you need further proof. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02quest/background/paleo/paleo.html

Jen,

It's simple physics. Ice floating in water has already displaced it's volume. Melting it will not cause the water to rise.

Take a glass and fill it with water. Drop in 2 ice cubes and let it sit for an hour. After the ice melts, you'll find that the water level is exactly the same as before.

The only concern with rising ocean temperatures stems from ice melting that is not already in water (glacial ice and icepacks on land).

You're right. Yes, I have taken physics (and hated it), but I still think rising ocean levels are a greater concern than you make them out to be. Obviously I can't change the way you see the world, but at least I can provide some solid facts. Make of them what you will. The following is from http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/chanton.html

Global sea level rise is caused by two factors. One is the delivery of water to the ocean as land ice melts, such as mountain glaciers and polar icecaps. Current evidence of global warming includes the widespread retreat of glaciers on 5 continents. For example:

The ice cap on Mount Kilimanjaro may be gone in 20 years. About 1/3 of Kilimanjaro's ice field has disappeared in the last 12 years and 82% of it has vanished since it was first mapped in 1912.
Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is thinning.
Massive Antarctic ice sheets have collapsed into the sea with alarming rapidity.

The second factor is the thermal expansion of water within the oceans. As the temperature of the waters in the oceans rises and the seas become less dense, they will spread, occupying more surface area on the planet. Increased temperature will accelerate the rate of sea level rise.
Since the end of the last ice age, 18,000 years ago, sea level has risen by over 120 meters.

Geological data suggests that global average sea level may have risen at an average rate of 0.1 to 0.2 mm/yr over the last 3000 years.
However, tide gauge data indicate that the global rate of sea level rise during the 20th century was 1 to 2 mm/yr.

Along relatively flat coastlines, such as those of the Atlantic, or coastlines bordering fertile, highly populated river deltas, a 1 mm rise in sea level causes a shoreline retreat of about 1.5 meters. We are already seeing evidence of shoreline retreat in the U.S.:

Along the marshy Gulf Coast of Florida, the effects of sea level rise can be observed in the number of dead cabbage palms at the seaward edge of the salt marsh.
Along the Atlantic Coast of the USA, erosion is narrowing beaches and washing out vacation houses. As sea level rises and coastal communities continue to grow and pump water from aquifers, salt water intrusion into groundwater will become a greater problem.

Low-lying Pacific island nations will be inundated or the rising sea level will invade their drinking water aquifers.

Tuvalu comprises nine coral atolls between Australia and Hawaii. Their highest point is 5 meters (15 feet) above seal level. As sea level has risen, Tuvalu has experienced lowland flooding. Saltwater intrusion is adversely affecting drinking water and food production. Tuvalu's leaders predict that the nation will be submerged in 50 years. In March 2002, the country's prime minister appealed to Australia and New Zealand to provide homes for his people if his country is washed away, but the plight of this nation is being ignored.
Other threatened island nations include the Cook Islands and the Marshall Islands. During the last decade, the island of Majuro (Marshall Islands) has lost up to 20 per cent of its beachfront.

In addition to island nations, low-lying coastal countries are threatened by rising sea level. A 1 meter rise in sea level would inundate half of Bangladesh's rice land. Bangladeshis would be forced to migrate by the millions. Other rice growing lowlands which would be flooded include those of Viet Nam, China, India and Thailand. Millions of climate refugees could be created by sea level rise in the Philippines, Indonesia and Egypt.

Jen,

Where is your proof that all the climatic horrors you describe are caused solely by humans? How much of so-called "global warming" is the result of human activity and how much is occuring naturally?

Our planet is currently in the midst of a natural warming trend that began about 1850 as we emerged from a 400 year cold spell known as the "Little Ice Age".

Much of the "science" behind the media hype over global warming is based upon computer simulations which have no proven track record for accuracy. In fact, these simulations have proven to be very contradictory.

And environmental principles like "sustainable development" and the "precautionary principle" simply preserve the economic advantages of Western society over the developing world - in essence, telling them that we don't want them to have our lifestyle because they'll cause too much polution. Try explaining global warming to people without enough food to eat or clean drinking water for whom every day is a struggle to survive!

Meanwhile, I recommend reading "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton and check out the following website: http://www.junkscience.com/

My motto - keep questioning and don't accept anything you're told at face value especially if the information is "politically correct" and popular with mainstream media.

Ya know, I just thought - if people are going to accept as fact computer generated prophecies of doom maybe we'd do just as well to consult psychics for our weather predictions - it would probably cost less!