News - Climate Change Fueled Witch Hunts - Then and Now | Heartland Institute
"European witch hunts of the 15th to 17th centuries targeted witches that were thought to be responsible for epidemics and crop failures related to declining temperatures of the Little Ice Age.
A belief that
evil humans were negatively affecting the climate and weather patterns was the “consensus” opinion of that time.
How eerily similar is that notion to the the current oft-repeated mantra that Man’s actions are controlling the climate and leading to catastrophic consequences?
The first extensive European witch hunts
coincided with plunging temperatures as the continent transitioned away from the beneficial warmth of the Medieval Warm Period (850 to 1250 AD). Increasing cold that began in the 13th century ushered in nearly five centuries of advancing mountain glaciers and prolonged periods of rainy or cool weather.
This time of naturally-driven climate change was accompanied by crop failure, hunger, rising prices and epidemics.
Large systematic witch hunts began in the 1430s and were advanced later in the century
...The
end of the witch hunts and killings
tie closely to the beginning of our current warming trend at the close of the 17th century.
That warming trend started more than 300 years ago and continues in fits and starts to this day...
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