Climate change has been blamed on our overuse of fossil fuels and pegged as the leading cause of the inevitable doom of our species. However, climate change in the form of ice ages and droughts has occurred many times during the period of mankind. Climate change has even led to some of our most important innovations as we adapted to these changes. Climate change forced a man to invent the needle to sew animal skins together and create clothes, protecting him from the extreme cold of the Ice Age.
The subsequent warming after the Ice Age led to the invention of farming which led to the development of communities. Sunspots were believed to have triggered droughts across Asia. These droughts caused Genghis Khan and the Mongolians to unite the nomadic tribes of Asia, creating trade routes and encouraging the exchange of ideas. In the 1300’s, climate change in Europe created torrential rains which led to severe floods. These floods resulted in a famine that killed a quarter of the population.
The masses died off, providing the fuel for the black death. The black death killed another quarter of the population. This purging of the population led to a huge labor shortage, leading to higher wages for the survivors and a great period of prosperity for all mankind. The robust economic conditions in the years that followed the plague allowed money to accumulate with investors which in turn led to the era of discovery and the discovery of Americas.
A subsequent mini ice age created a demand for furs that led to the colonization and exploitation of the natural resources found in the Americas. The climate change that led to the American Dust Bowl caused the farmers to invent new farming techniques, resulting in much higher yields per acre through the discovery of fertilizer. Climate change is a natural cycle of planet earth and has forced mankind to make many positive adaptations and create the world where we flourish in today.
Climate change creates problems, but it also creates opportunities for the people who can solve them. Perhaps the vilification of fossil fuels will lead to new innovations in energy production. For example, innovations in energy production could come from wind and solar energy. The need for energy could even spur space travel.
What opportunities can you see that can come about from climate change?
