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But scientists have found evidence of tropical climates at the poles. When do we get that part of the cycle?

The antarctic has not always been where it is located today, at one time that landmass was much closer to the equator, it moves due to continental drift to the southern pole, hence no tropical climate for that land mass anymore.

If you want to guess on a world wide heat up with no or little polar ice, figure on at least a few million years to get through the current series of ice ages.

We have got anywhere from 10 to 50 million years before another real heatup to global tropical temps if ever.

Global Temperature and Atmospheric CO2 over Geologic Time

Late Carboniferous to Early Permian time (315 mya -- 270 mya) is the only time period in the last 600 million years when both atmospheric CO2 and temperatures were as low as they are today (Quaternary Period ).

Temperature after C.R. Scotese
CO2 after R.A. Berner, 1994

There has historically been much more CO2 in our atmosphere than exists today. For example, during the Jurassic Period (200 mya), average CO2 concentrations were about 900 ppm or about 2.5 times higher than today. The highest concentrations of CO2 during all of the Paleozoic Era occurred during the Ordovician Period, exceeding 6000 ppm -- more than 16 times higher than today.

The Carboniferous Period and the Ordovician Period were the only geological periods during the Paleozoic Era when global temperatures were as low as they are today.

To the consternation of global warming proponents, the Late Ordovician Period was also an Ice Age, with CO2 concentrations nearly 15 times higher than today-- 5500 ppm. According to greenhouse theory, Earth should have been exceedingly hot. Instead, global temperatures were no warmer than today. Clearly, other factors besides atmospheric carbon influence earth temperatures and global warming.

There you go again, posting all of those darn facts that muck up the trendy theories so near and dear to our mass media. You big troublemaker. I just hope you are happy.

Now, to get with the current program, repeat after me: "Global warming is real, CO2 makes the planet hotter, we're all gonna die when the ice caps melt, like they did in 'Waterworld'". Got that?

I mean, really, who are we supposed to believe? A bunch of boring old charts, or a splashy movie starring Kevin Costner? I rest my case!