Once again a Quoran tries to ask a “gotcha” question about the fact that geologically recent ice cores show CO2 lagging temperature over the last few glaciation periods.
One key point is that it is NOT true that temperature rises always precede the rise in CO2. As noted by Richard Rothwell (6years ago!) “If the trigger event is an increase in CO2 due to a massive increase in volcanic activity, then CO2 will rise first and the temperature rise will follow.” And as pointed out by Elijah Williams (3years ago) a good example of this is the Permian Extinction event when “Massive volcanic emissions increased CO2 from around 400ppm to over 2000 (maybe even over 6000) ppm over the course of 75 thousand years. This caused rapid increases in temperature, ocean hypoxia and acidification, and very nearly did render Earth uninhabitable. ‘The Great Dying’ wiped out over 80% of all genera and is the greatest extinction event we know of.”
Another example of CO2 increase preceding temperature rise is happening right now. We can see that CO2 has been going up more and more rapidly for a couple of centuries, but it is only within the last 50 years or so that the consequent increase in temperature has become undeniably measurable (even though any competent physicist could have told you it was bound to follow – at least since Arrhenius did an approximate calculation in 1896).
But as the ice cores show, it can also go the other way because A causes B does not necessarily mean that B does not cause A.
Of course, when B does also cause A we get what is called positive feedback and the risk of testing how far that might go by playing FAFO with the CO2 vs Temperature situation is somewhat more serious than a burned out amplifier in your sound system.