Oh, Noes! Climate Change Could Have Helped The Roman Empire Fall!

Obviously, this must have huge implications for Earth’s nations today, because OMG WE’RE ALL GOING TO…..well, something. Alarmists are never quite sure what will actually happen, but, something will, usually involving very specific words like “Might,” “may”, “possibly,” and “could” (via Jammie Wearing Fool)

Some House Democrats blamed their defeat in November’s midterm elections partly on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to force a vote on a climate change bill. A new study suggests that climate change has claimed bigger political victims in the past. Much bigger.

The study published in the journal Science suggests climate change contributed to the rise and fall of the Roman empire.“Climate change seems a factor in the rise and fall of the Roman empire, according to a study of ancient tree growth that urges greater awareness of the risks of global warming in the 21st century,” Reuters reports.

Um, OK? Except there is one minor problem: the Roman Empire is widely reported to have fallen on September 4, 476. That year happened to be part of the Dark Ages Cold Period.

(via CO2 Science)

So, it wasn’t actually global warming that hosed the Romans, if we were to consider climate as a cause, which could be involved, to some extent, but, a cooler period. Some other scholars claim the year 1453 as the year when Rome finally fell, due to Constantinople falling. Well, that was during the ….. Little Ice Age, another cool period! If one looks at the real reasons why the Roman Empire fell (a high level overview here), there are quite a few similarities to today’s politics, yet, times are different. Or, are they?

The study said the evidence, helping back up written records that are sparse in Europe more than 500 years ago, “may challenge recent political and fiscal reluctance” to slow projected climate change in the 21st century.

If climate change helped cause the Fall Of The Roman Empire, then, I think we should do all in our power to make sure we have a high output of greenhouse gases, to avoid any cold periods, not slow the current warm period.

Interestingly, the original Reuters article never bothers to mention that a good chunk of the dire conditions mentioned in their article occurred during cool periods. They almost make it seem as if they were during warm periods.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

Share this!

Enjoy reading? Share it with your friends!