Posted on 10/06/2011 12:51:54 PM PDT by decimon
Earlier this week, the journal Proceeedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a study on climate change that is at the same time scary, comforting, insightful and a statement of the obvious.
To be more accurate, I should probably say that the paper is capable of being interpreted in all of those ways, rather than risk implying that the authors intended to do more than run the numbers and see what popped up.
What they're talking about is climate change in Europe, specifically between 1500 and 1800 AD - a period that encompasses the so-called Little Ice Age.
It also encompasses a period that historian Eric Hobsbawm dubbed the General Crisis, when Europe was beset by a number of wars, inflation, migration and population decline.
So did the cold cause the chaos?
The method employed by David Zhang from the University of Hong Kong and his colleagues was basically to look for a chain of causality in changes in things such as temperature, crop yield, migration, famine, and war.
On the one hand, their top line conclusion, contained in the paper's title, brooks little argument: "Climate change is the ultimate cause of large-scale human crisis".
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Too cool ping.
The history lesson on climate change? The internal combustion engine didn’t do it all...
The history of climate change is also temperature increases were in history all good things. IF global warming is occurring, we should be cheering it. It only makes like better for humans.
like = life
Ping.
We will best best able to deal with any climate changes by going into them free and prosperous.
I’m at over 9,000 ft. We’re at solar max and expecting a possible extended minimum with a severe minimum at about 2014 or so. I’m getting ready with prevention measures in advance (water system, heating, vehicle modifications, clothing, other work). It’s wetter and warmer than usual so far as per the current solar max, so we’re expecting higher drifts and the usual high winds this winter (gusts to ~ 100+ mph). Will try to get a video of a good storm posted somewhere for you, when that happens. Also considering yaks instead of cattle after finishing fencing in a year or two, BTW (much better winter survivability).
Let met try that again.
We will best be able to deal with any climate changes by going into them free and prosperous.
Yaks?
What about these guys?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_cattle
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Thanks. I seriously considered highland cattle, but a neighbor lost one during winter a few years ago. It appears that they’re not ready for, say, -30 F, with 80+ mph winds. And there are sometimes problems with calving. Also, local government recently confiscated nearly 400 head of cattle from the last real rancher in the area (false allegations of animal neglect from English saddle type ranchers, HOA queens, retired, pensioned NIMBYs, real estate interests, all).
Yaks should fit the weather, altitude and low growth here rather well, along with consuming far less hay. And they’re too mean for animal control chicks to mess with. ;-) There’s also some demand for high priced yak meat from restaurants frequented mostly by bipartisan socialists (nearly all restaurants these days).
My experience is with cattle in the Midwest, but quite a few things are different about Germany here...er, I mean the Rockies. The California/New York social and political environment is another problem to work around with measures like meaner livestock, better fences, camera security with auto-uploads to remote servers, lawyers, ditching the neighborly, sociable attitude from the Midwest, etc.
Wow, you are up there. 9K asl, if you don’t mind me asking, where about are ya from?
From? Texas, Missouri. That was somewhat long ago.
I meant around what part of the country living in. I’m just curious, cause your living up around 9K asl. Colorado?
I understand you can milk yaks, too. Maybe not at -30 though.
New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Washington Hawaii, and Alaska all have elevations exceeding 9K. Then there’s the Western Canadian Provinces....
“...English saddle type ranchers, HOA queens, retired, pensioned NIMBYs, real estate interests,...”
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Wow. From your posts over time, I somehow imagined you were in rugged country surrounded by like-minded self-sufficient types. Sorry you have to deal with the above. Yuck.
Are yaks like buffalo, needing 4 layers of fencing? Will you need a large animal vet with an interest in exotics? Not sure I would want to try milking a yak! ;)
We have similar winter weather here in Wisconsin. Our vet friend really likes the Highlands. He is the kind of guy who would be interested in learning about something like a yak, though.
I’m going to let several interests iron out their differences in courts and with the feds before answering that question.
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