Posted by Bob on 10/1/2007, 8:01 am It began with the last Ice Age, and recounted how, after the glaciers retreated, there was a period of a shorter Ice Age, but very brutal, which ended the Viking migration toward North America. After that, Europe entered into a period of temperate climate during which it thrived for a time, until recurrent disasters (plagues, the Hun conquests) killed off anout one quarter to one third of the population. Climate changes seem to have ended the Maya empire (although other factors, such as massive ritual warfare, and a gelological shift in the tilt of the continent, slowing river flow, were also involved). The planet has suffered recurrent massive extinctions, even before humans became a factor. Astronomical events from meteor impacts to intense gamma ray bursts, and solar fluctuations, have had devastating results. In short, the past six thousand years of human history have been a very narrow slice of the pie, a brief sliver of time during which the planet has been spared. But in other epochs, massive and violent changes in the environment have been more the rule than the exception. In the present era, mankind has become a significant factor, polluting the skies and the water. This may very well have contributed to the present era of global warming, and there is some fear that the result could be a runaway greenhouse effect that could end all, or nearly all, life on the planet, the only survivors being biotics that already have adapted to the extreme heat of geothermal vents. Yet, some scientists still hold to the idea that something as unpredictable as a change in the ocean currents, brought about by a sudden tectonic shift (or major earthquake), such as caused the Boxing Day tsunami, multiplied by a factor of ten, could easily result in another, and very sudden, Ice Age. In short, we must do all we can to prevent destructive climate change. But in doing that, we must be careful not to make matters worse. In the end, nature's ordinary effects may completely overwhelm any influence mankind can have. Unfortunately, so far, man's tendency is to make plans based not on practical concerns, but on political and ideological ones. That cannot help.
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During the weekend, one of the cable TV stations aired a documentary on climate change, and how it has affected human history over the past 6,000 years.
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