Ecological Sustainability

82 Ecological Sustainability

between 1400 and 1850 CE. Figure 3.5 illustrates a composite reconstruction

of northern hemisphere temperature shifts from a number of proxy sources

(e.g., tree rings, pollen, sediments, ice cores, etc.). Note that from the gure,

the Medieval Warm Period was followed in approximately 200 years by the

LIA, which has now turned into a GW event.

The megadrought events that occurred prior to the strong warming that

began with the industrial revolution and the burning of FFs demonstrated

that our planet has the capability of generating drought events on its own,

which can last for several decades to hundreds of years ...