Some Chinese Scientists Say Warmer is Better for China
Sunny Days Ahead?
This is a very interesting look by the L.A. Times at the thought by some scientists that warmer temperatures are better for China. A few things really stand out for me in this article. First, that in China scientists are reluctant to talk publicly about their opposition to the man-made global warming “theory.” The other is the revelation that when it was cold in China at the beginning of the 13th Century it caused the desert to grow!
Scientific studies show that the Mongol invasions under Genghis Khan at the beginning of the 13th century were hastened by a sharp drop in temperatures and the phenomenon known as desertification.
“With the cold temperatures there was a drought in Mongolia. Since people were eating livestock which fed on the grasslands, they needed to go south,” said Xie Zhenghui, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ International Center for Climate and Environmental Sciences. “When there was warmer weather and more rain, the Mongols didn’t need to attack the south.”
The same went for pre-Khan invaders. The Western Zhou dynasty came to an abrupt end in 771 BC, when the effects of cold weather drove barbarian tribes southward to sack the city of Xian, the capital whose glory is epitomized in the artistry of the terra-cotta warriors.
Higher temperatures, on the other hand, have marked periods of major progress.
Why are the world’s leaders meeting in the hopes of cooling off the planet? A colder world is not a happier one. History teaches us that civilizations thrive during warmer weather and die in the cold. That’s not good news when you consider that the Sun is entering a quiet phase and many scientists say the long term forecast is colder, not warmer, no matter what happens in Copenhagen.
