If all the carbon stored in fossil fuels was once in the atmosphere, should the planet then have been too warm to sustain life?

Question

If all the carbon stored in fossil fuels was once in the atmosphere, should the planet then have been too warm to sustain life?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Most of the coal we burn was captured over millions of years during the carboniferous. That’s were it gets its name. The carbon bearing period. Oil formed a bit later afaik. And the earth was up to 10C hotter at multiple points in its history. Life can be sustained at higher temperature but changing temperature quickly will cause mass extinctions and new adaptations. What can’t be sustained at these temperatures, however, is the civilisation we have built.