Many people think that the Industrial Revolution was the first time people began to have a major effect on the earth's ecology.

VOA: special.2011.04.26

Roundtables are also planned, all with the overarching and generally accepted goal of limiting the rise of Earth's temperature to within 2 degrees Fahrenheit above its temperature before the industrial revolution.

CNN: Leaders to focus on climate change at summit

The Earth's temperatures were fluctuating long before there were people, not to mention the Industrial Revolution.

FORBES: Fact and Comment