During the Pleistocene Epoch Ice Age, beginning about 2.5 million years ago, virtually all of southwestern Canada was repeatedly glaciated by ice sheets that also covered much of Alaska, northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, and the rest of northern United States. In North America, the most recent glacial event is the Wisconsin glaciation, which began about 80,000 years ago and ended around 10,000 years ago.

source

Can anyone tell me what "ended" means? Can we really say that the Wisconsin Glaciation "ended" 10,000 years ago, or can we say that mountain glaciers, and to a significant extent, polar icecaps, are simply what remains of that ice sheet? Sincd people tended to inhabit the fertile plains and temperate climates (with the exception of the Inuit people), have we simply used the term "ended" because the ice sheet had receded out of view and into the north, or into the mountains?

What ended is a period of time called "Wisconsin Glaciation". Just you can say that there was an end of the Age of Jazz, or Reason, or Steam. Which does not mean there was no longer any jazz, reason, or steam, but rather certain characteristics belonging to a age have ended. E.g. Wisconsin Glaciation may have had as part of it's characterization ice sheets in the region which were a mile thick- this is no longer the case and hasn't been this way for about 10,000 years.

Scientists refer to your current period as an interglacial period or warming period, and specifically it's called the Holocene interglacial.

Wikipedia:

[[ Interglacial:
An Interglacial is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature that separates glacials, or ice ages. The current Holocene interglacial has persisted since the Pleistocene, about 11,400 years ago.

Interglacials during the Pleistocene

During the 2.5 million year span of the Pleistocene, numerous glacials, or significant advances of continental ice sheets in North America and Europe occurred at intervals of approximately 40,000 to 100,000 years. These glacial periods were separated by more temperate interglacials.

During the interglacials, which we are in right now, the climate warmed to more or less present day temperatures and the tundra receded to the north following the ice sheets. Forests returned to areas that once supported the tundra vegetation. Essentially and traditionally, interglacials are identified on land or in shallow epicontinental seas, that is: not in the ocean. Mostly, they are recognized by their paleontology. Floral and faunal remains of species pointing to temperate climate and indicating a specific age are used to identify particular interglacials. Most used are mammalian and molluscan species, pollen and plant macro-remains (seeds and fruits). However, many other fossil remains may be helpful: insects, ostracods, foraminifera, diatoms, etc. ]]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interglacial

In others words we are *still* in an *ICE AGE* which has lasted millions of years. We are currently in a warm period relative to being in a very cold and longer period which has been "the norm" for last few millions years.

To take from the FACT that we are in a warming period, the idea we "close" to turn into something like Venus is example of how foolish people can be when they don't have a clue of what they think they know. Or said differently, it's sit-com foolishness writ large.