The Great Warming: Climate Change And The Rise And Fall Of Civilizations

摘要

In early October, some 1,000 Magellanic penguins washed up on Brazilian beaches, far to the north of their usual habitat, most likely the result of temperature changes in ocean currents that in turn may be attributable to climate change (though this is far from conclusive). If it is more than a one-time anomaly, penguin civilization, as it were, may be approaching a crisis in the years to come. But what concerns many people about climate change is the potentially disastrous effects it could have on human civilization. The Great Warming looks into our past, in particular, the 10th through 15th centuries ad, to better assess our future. Although average temperatures by and large varied by no more than a few degrees in that period, major shifts occurred in the way people lived.