This freaks me out a little bit.
The idea that the results of the plague could have caused the Little Ice Age is incredibly interesting, difficult to prove, and very distressing.
Pollen and leaf data support the idea that millions of trees sprang up on abandoned farmland, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This would have had the effect of cooling the climate, a team from Utrecht University, Netherlands, says.
I will be interested to see if they can back this up with some really solid data. There are so many possible things that could have triggered the Little Ice Age and a combination of these and things we’ve not thought of are almost certainly the true cause.
Comments (3)
That’s very interesting. And, like you say, disturbing. To think of the drastic changes we’ve made in the environment, and still continue to make, and what the effects will be.
Interesting that what would be perceived as a “little thing,” like abandoned farmland could touch off a weather change. Makes you wonder what other historic events changed the climate, considering humans seem to up the anti with every century.
Consider our destruction of the rainforests in the world, particularly in the Northwest. It was decided that logging jobs trump everything else since they are voters and contributors to Republican coffers.
The worst view in the world is a clearcut area.