![]() ![]() But there have been several periods, now intensely studied by historians, during which climate has drastically shifted, either locally or globally. Of course, there has never been anything directly comparable to the current cycle of human-induced global warming. Based on evidence of this kind, scientists can tell us a great deal about how trees, glaciers, and sea levels will respond to rising temperatures.īut what about the political and social impact of global warming? What effects might a major shift in climate have on governments, public institutions, warfare, and belief systems? For answers to these questions, we have to turn to history (keeping in mind that historical inferences are necessarily impressionistic). ![]() Yet even scientific projections depend crucially on the study of the past: Proxy data, such as tree rings, pollen deposits, and ice cores, have proved indispensable for the modeling of the future impact of climate change. Today, the subject has also become an important concern in the humanities and arts.ĭiscussions of climate tend to focus on the future. Over the last couple of decades, as the impact of global warming has intensified, the discussion of climate change has spilled out of the scientific and technocratic circles within which it was long confined. ![]()
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