The Great Warming By Brian Fagan

Previous climate change predictions have provided scientists, archaeologist and ecologists with information about the past and future of humans. These indications are backed up by scientific research based off of the physics of the Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, land and ice. In addition, many researchers have recently turned their focus to past civilizations and their downfall. With information from Mark Kinver’s “Roman Rise and Fall ‘Recorded in Trees’” studies show that from the demise of the Argaric society to the fall of the Mayan, and Ancient Roman Empire, climate change has played a key role in regards to civilizations collapse and nuclear annihilation.

The Great Warming is a book written by Brian Fagan that encompasses the environment and history pertaining to most of the human race between A.D. 800 and 1300. Not only does the book give a new dimension to world history by looking at climate history, but it also provides the reader with an ominous warning of the impact that climate change may have on the human race in the future. Fagan references many civilizations in the book that were affected by the rise in surface temperatures. He goes in depth with them individually to show just how worldwide this climate change was, how each civilization adapted or failed to adapt, and who the winners and losers were during this medieval warming period.

When exploring Europe, Medieval Europe comes to mind. During the Medieval times, the people began to take on changes. Growth and recovery became major during these times, especially agriculturally. Weather patterns, society, technological innovations, and agriculture all play important roles to each other. When thinking weather patterns, one must think why would weather patterns play a major role?

A climate interval from around 1300 to 1750, with beginning and ending dates varying by geography (Wolfe, 2014), the Little Ice Age was a period of time in which mean annual temperatures decreased by about 0.6C and mountain glaciers expanded across the Northern Hemisphere. This period of time occurred after the Medieval Warm Period, around the Middle Ages, and is followed by the current period of warming (Rafferty & Jackson, 2016). This idea of climate cycles—known as Milankovitch cycles—shows that climate change is not a new phenomenon.

Balog was once a skeptic of climate change as he believed that the theory surrounding global warming was based off of computer models. Furthermore, he did not believe that humans could alter the world’s climate on such a global scale. However, through studies of ice records, long tubes of ice drilled from the ground, Balog found key evidence suggesting ideas contrary to his prior beliefs. These glacial tubes preserved historical records of the past similar to the rings of a tree, recording past temperatures and CO2 levels. Using these records, one can see the direct variation between temperature and CO2. Additionally, the recent spike in both

According to the statistic, average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit around the world since 1880, and the rate warming is still keeping increase. The 20th century’s last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, which is what people say global warming. Global warming not only influences the temperature but also have many bad impacts. In the article “Seafarming at the End of the World” by Peter Meehan, he mentioned that some of the ocean species are going to be driven extinct by climate change. Similarly, in the article “Global Warming Impacts” the writer shows that global warming will have bad influences in many different ways.

Climate change is the change in average weather of a region. Climate change can be, for example, change in region’s average annual rainfall or change in region’s average temperature for certain period (May, 2011). In a broader view, climate change can also be seen as change in Earth’s climate with an example being global warming.

The earth has an undeniable history of climate change whether it be warming or cooling. The evidence of the Little Ice Age proves the earth can cool by its own with no aid of human influence. However, in recent years it has been suggested humans have been instrumental in the warming of our planet and the melting of polar ice as a result of the industrial era. The industrial era has brought upon the increase of greenhouse gas emitted. According to City Metric, “One idea is that small increases in greenhouse gases due to the expansion of agriculture that started 8,000 years ago have in fact delayed the next ice age.” (Mark Maslin, 2017) The cause of ice ages is not completely understood, but seems to be a natural occurrence. However, the idea that ice ages were caused by the earth’s orbit still is not irrelevant.

Earth is an immeasurably complex planet, and the processes that make it so are equally as intricate. It is this same intricacy, however, that makes the Earth so vulnerable to even the slightest variation in overall temperature or change within the gases that which compose the atmosphere. What We Know About Climate Change by Kerry Emanuel aims to address this issue of Earth’s vulnerability head-on as it suggests the plausible causes for the undeniable planetary warming observed in the last century all the while proposing pragmatic solutions to discontinue the unnatural processes credited with the abnormal warming.

The global warming is a phenomenon happening all over the earth, there are several causes, but most are a result of human activity. The graph in image 1 shows that a significant increase in the climate temperature in the mid-20th century, somewhere between 1900 and 1950. The industrial revolution happened between the years 1820 and 1840, although great improvements in technology were achieved in the 1900 's. The increasing temperatures since the industrial revolution work as a proof that global warming is a direct effect of human activity. As image 1 shows before the 20th century the variations in the earth 's climate were minimal, except for that of the ice age. Although the industrial revolution detonated the rising temperature due to the use of new chemicals, this change is not evident until it surpasses the previously registered temperatures in the mid-1900 's. Science and technology have improved in the last 200 years, most devices used to measure changes in temperatures were just developed about 150 years ago, so there is not much information of the temperatures before that (Vallis). Nevertheless, scientists have been able to estimate the earth 's temperature from millions of years ago by studding trees, fossils, sediments and water temperatures. Recent studies have proved how many man-made chemicals and activities have contributed to the climate change, affecting the natural processes in the earth like the

The last glacial period has encountered numerous large-magnitude, rapid climate change events; characterising the period between 10ka and 50ka (Steig, 1999). During this period was the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which occurred approximately 21ka, a glacial period defined by changes in greenhouse gases, sea level and ice sheets (Otto-Bliesner et al., 2006). In comparison the mid-Holocene occurred approximately 6000 years ago, during the current interglacial. The Holocene period is regarded as relatively muted in terms of ‘signals’ of climate change, with changes primarily associated with changes in seasonal solar radiance (Otto-Bliesner et al., 2006; Steig, 1999).

Climate change is defined as the increase of the average surface temperature on the earth. There is speculation that this climate change is due to human activity, but there are skeptics that say that it’s the earth’s natural variation of temperature. Even though natural variation is evident, data reveals that the extent of this climate change isn’t only effected by natural variation.

This first section also discussed the last ice age during the Pleistocene Epoch during which glaciers covered around 30% of the earth and enabled migration across land bridges they formed and created the Great Lakes. The second part of the notes examined "Evidence of Past Ice Ages." This evidence includes land formations such as U-Shaped valleys moraines, and drumlins; marine microfossils that can reveal a lot of information about past glaciation; and ice core records in the Antarctic and Greenland. Finally, the last section of the video discussed "Causes of Ice Ages." Among these are Milankovitch cycles, plate tectonics and ocean circulation, and changes in atmospheric composition. The Greenhouse effect was also addressed in this section, with manmade and natural causes being presented. An explanation of the concern regarding the Greenhouse effect was also discussed: more melting sea ice will impact several areas of human life including health, agriculture, our forests, our water resources, and our coastal areas. In the end, it was mentioned that climate change is a natural process, but humans need to be aware of their influence in alteration or accelerating these changes to prevent

Climate change has been an issue for many centuries. This could stem from a variety of sources, including the many different revolutions of the colonial age. From the agricultural revolution, to the industrial revolution, humanity has been shaping the environment though inventions and innovations. Many inventions show some connection to the increase in temperature, including James Watt’s invention of the steam engine in 1784 (Crutzen 1). These different inventions used the resources of the world to benefit humanity, and provided short term benefits. However, as seen later by people such as Italian geologist Antonio Stoppani, the world was changing, and this new force by humanity, “may be compared to the greater forces of earth,” (2). These past changes have only been increased in size and destruction over the course of the last century.

Throughout the long history of the Earth, the global climate has fluctuated drastically, ranging from tropical to glacial. In the mid-18th century, the Industrial Revolution began, and humanity began a bilateral campaign: one waged with the goal of achieving a prosperous, industrialized future, and another, inadvertently waged against the environment. The purpose of this literature review is to examine the influence of anthropological global warming on the overall climate and to investigate the impact of humanity compared to natural circumstances. Although there is a small, but vocal dissenting minority, an overwhelming majority of researchers agree that