That is a really good/complex question The earth is just a system of systems. We do have an effect on it. A lot of our problem is our controbution to trends that are already happening and disrupting them. It’s basically always trends not single events/things. Life has always been a huge driver, and as we are so dominate we have an effect on the velocity of these big systems.

Check out: www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/…/what-is-el-nino/