While the methane itself might be natural, what makes you think it is natural for it to be released? Hell the fact that the methane is proving to be thousands of years old seems to speak against this being a natural warming cycle, right?
Quite so. It ought to be noted that atmospheric methane concentrations have been remarkably steady for at least the last thousand years. Up until the 1800s that is, during which it rose exponentially. (Do I detect a strong correlation with certain human activities on our planet? Surprise!)
That we're beginning to see long-frozen methane bubble up out of the arctic now has more to due with the fact that the arctic is thawing -- and that would be due to... uhhh, wait, why is the arctic thawing again? I can't remember.
Quite.... no. To both you and kara.
Disclaimer: I'm not a climate-change denier. I am confident that human activities are influencing the changing of Earth's climate. I am not confident in the slightest (and nor are most scientists) about what proportion of climate change is directly attributable to human activity, and what is part of a natural warming trend, and anyone who claims to be confident in those proportions is lying or selling something. That said...
The fact that the released methane is thousands of years old does not in the slightest bit dimiss the notion that part of this climate cycle is a natural warming period. This planet has historical climate cycles that have played out over hundreds of thousands or millions of years that we are just beginning to understand. Historical ice ages and warming cycles can last thousands of years - we have evidence for this in the history of Homo sapiens and the migration patterns our species followed across continents. To say that just because the methane is old means that this warming period is not a natural occurrence is just bonkers and is a position derived more from hyperbole than science. Could human activity be a factor? Absolutely. Could its release be part of a natural cycle? Absolutely.
This is what drives me crazy about the ideological positions around climate change - the arguments are becoming more about ideology, with people afraid to concede simple, reasonable unknowns, than about science. This is true even in academia, though the public is most prone to it.
The best response to Alex's post came from Beskargam. It doesn't actually matter if its part of a natural cycle or has been influenced by human activity, it's
happening. If we as a species want to keep this planet relatively comfy, we should probably be concerned and be figuring out what we can do about it.