The climate, weather, and the destruction of civilizations Linden, Eugene. creator text nyu New York Simon & Schuster 2006 monographic eng

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x, 302 p. : ill., map ; 25 cm. Climate has been humanity's constant, if moody, companion. At times benefactor or tormentor, climate nurtured the first stirrings of civilization and then repeatedly visited ruin on empires and peoples. Environmental journalist Linden reveals a recurring pattern in which civilizations become prosperous and complacent during good weather, only to collapse when climate changes--either through its direct effects, such as floods or drought, or indirect consequences, such as disease, blight, and civil disorder. The science of climate change is still young, but the evidence mounts that climate loomed over the fate of societies from arctic Greenland to the Fertile Crescent and from the lost cities of the Mayans in Central America to the rain forests of Central Africa. The tragedy of New Orleans is but the latest instance in which a region prepared for weather disasters experienced in the past finds itself helpless when nature ups the ante.--From publisher description. Eugene Linden. Includes index. Climatic changes Climate and civilization Weather Weather Social aspects Cambios climaticos Clima y civilización Tiempo Tiempo Aspectos Sociales QC 981.8 L744w 2006 551.609 0684863529 (hardcover) 9780684863528 (hardcover) 2005054434 http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0641/2005054434-d.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0641/2005054434-s.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0641/2005054434-t.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0641/2005054434-d.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0641/2005054434-s.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0641/2005054434-t.html DLC 050928 20230410132758.0 113919