He has made his position on this issue quite clear.
Yeah, Bear's pretty good about that. And sometimes adds some good humor along with it, too.
What you provide is the train of logic that you accept and denounce all other forms that have a contrary message... Hardly objective
Yep. Loads of that nonsense on all sides.
Every position has been discredited by detractors and simultaneously supported by proponents.
I wouldn't have said "discredited", I would have said "criticised and supported".
In the end, what we do have is a geologic record that highlights multiple episodes of extreme climatic swings long before the presence of an anthropogenic inputs...
Yes, it has, and quite a lot of information has come from ice cores, as well. What it seems to show is that it is a relatively delicate balance of warming surges alternating with cooling surges. The problem this time is that it appears this particular warming period has been extended longer than the previous ones even if it hasn't been the hottest one. And the data suggests it is an upset in the balance caused by a higher saturation of the atmosphere by compounds such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, CFCs, low-level ozone, et al, and as the temperature warms, water vapor (which is a feedback rather than a forcing). It may not be much in quantity, but it does not take much to upset a balance sometimes.
That said, does humanity contribute to climate change in some form - sure we do, but in the scope of this issue, it's akin to sounding the alarm that the Atlantic ocean is drying up because I removed a tablespoon of water.
I agree there's a whack of exaggeration done by both sides.
In the end, the record is clear in that humanity or not, the climate will still swing on it's heel regardless of all of the arm-flapping that goes on.
Well, certainly. It has to because that's the nature of the cycle. But in the meantime, we have to learn to adapt to the warming and see if we can figure out how not to impact the balance like we have been doing.
Consensus? - Only at the 'true believers' meetings held in Cancun annually
Yeah, consensus does not mean much. We used to have a consensus that said the universe revolved around Earth, too.
Planet warming faster than any other time? - Here's a thought; how long have we had real records kept and how does that time frame compare to geologic time... Sorry, but that is a specious argument at best.
As far as I can tell, we can fairly accurately date back to at least 800,000 years through geologic data and data from ice cores, and somewhat less data from years before that.
http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2011/20110118_MilankovicPaper.pdf
http://www.lakepowell.net/sciencecenter/paleoclimate.htm
partially.
- Who/what was responsible for the multiple episodes over the millenia?
There are quite a few; GHGs emitted naturally and now from human activities, fluctuations in solar irradiance, etc.