Boxes/The Medieval Warm Period - Philosophical Investigations

Inconvenient Evidence of Climate Change in the Past

The Medieval Warm Period, of which the proponents of Anthropogenic Global Warming don't want you to be aware, was a period in which agriculture flourished, helping Europe emerge from the Dark Ages.

The Little Ice Age produced crop failures from too-short growing seasons leading to widespread hunger and even starvation in some more northern locales.

The farmers of the Norse settlements in Greenland were the hardest hit by the climate change. Like in much of northern Europe, crops failed and livestock died, leading to famine. Dependent mainly on fish and cattle, these settlements were plagued with poor hay harvests and a declining cod population due to colder waters. By 1370, the growing sea ice cut off communication with the outside world, leaving settlers to fend for themselves. A century later, German ships landed in Greenland to find the Norse population decimated.

Cold, Sick and Hungry
The cooler climate also affected the health of Europeans. Famine killed millions, and poor nutrition led to weakened immunity and increased susceptibility to a variety of diseases. Malnutrition aggravated an influenza epidemic in 1557-8 in England and hastened the spread of the bubonic plague throughout Europe. Cool, wet summers led to outbreaks of a bacterial illness called St. Anthony's Fire — the afflicted would suffer convulsions, hallucinations, gangrene, and even death. Grain stored in cool, damp conditions could develop a fungus known as ergot blight that can ferment and produce a drug similar to LSD. According to some historians, the symptoms of ergot blight caused the Salem witch hysteria. The increase in marshy grounds in England during the 16th century promoted the breeding of mosquitoes and even led to the spread of malaria.

References: Scientific American Frontiers: Hot Planet, Cold Comfort -

http:www.pbs.org/saf/1505/features/lia.htm