GRE General Test: RC-885313 GRE Reading Comprehension

Scientists warn of a global warming, a "greenhouse effect" resulting from increased atmospheric pollutants, including carbon dioxide from the burning of wood, coal, and oil. A coal-industry spokesperson says that the effect need not cause concern in the near future if, as some scientists believe, the Earth faces another ice age within the next thousand years, since each calamity could cancel out the other.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the conclusion of the spokesperson?