I keep reading that the Earth's temperature is rising the fastest in history. That may be true if the record starts in 1920, about the time that there were temperature measurements being made all over the world. Even then, it is odd since the average temperature measurements peaked in 1998, and have not increased since then. Personally I have severe doubts about the average temperature measurements. But, assuming the average temperature measurements are correct, I find it hard to believe that an average temperature increase of 1 degree Fahrenheit over 100 years would make any difference to plant and animal life, or would melt the polar ice caps. A lot of the claims I read about global warming seem ridiculous even if we assume that human generated carbon dioxide is causing some warming.