You might think of it — it being human civilization as we know it today — as the product of a lucky greenhouse.
These days we talk about climate change mostly in terms of a threat. It represents a set of new risks to our health, our infrastructure, our relatively stable existence. But ages before humans began to adding to that change, the climate system created the perfect conditions for human existence during a period called the Holocene.
“It’s no coincidence that during that stable period of climate that we’ve had the development of human civilization as we know it,” said Jeffrey Shaman, director of the climate and health program and an associate professor at Columbia University.
“Agriculture started, human urbanization started — all this benefited because we actually had a very remarkably long period of time, 10,000 to 12,000 years of the Holocene, in which temperatures didn’t really move that much globally.”
But Shaman said our climate tampering could introduce some nasty disruptions to the climate coddling we’ve taken for granted until this point in our history. Swings in temperatures, changing weather patterns, and sea level rise could all have serious effects on human health writ large, he said. “It’s going to be more difficult to feed ourselves, there will be more heat-related morbidity and mortality.”
In the video above, Shaman helps us visualize why we should love what climate change has done for all of us — and what to do now that the climate system has our attention.
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Propaganda
Yes, agreed “Propaganda propagation is eminent when WHEATHER CHANGES lMPACTING SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC ZONES’ HABITAT, HEALTH & DISEASE STRIKES RIGHT?”
Volcanos erupt wiping out cities, mud slides catapults families, disease spread in remote affected areas, insect populations invade, bats contaminate……potential devastating global chaos might catapult or surface.
DRONES & GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INSECTS MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH TO PREVENT HUMAN DEVASTATION.
Denialism.
Climate change has been the driving force in evolution on planet Earth, it is good for us, so let’s have more of it. It stop it is impossible and would be a big mistake.
Within my lifetime we were supposed to be burned up, under water, and frozen over. Have’ seen any of it.
Not sure if being economically stable is going to help all that much when the heat hits the fan…..I’d say “we’re all losers” but nice job and let’s hope folks are listening and acting.
1. I’m new stat reader and I can not understand lack of replies here…jee-ee-suz f-ing something or another..
2. no one is listening, or acting, and triple c (catastrophic climate change) is going to destroy near everything and for near everyone. and in near future.
3. DelViscio and Smith: A decent and intelligent article, save for fantasy about protection for some. A question to you: The ocean is currently slated to die by CO2 acidification: True or false?