Mastodawn

You know that idea of a White Christmas, yeah?

That really comes from the Little Ice Age (1600 - 1800) ? Hmmm? (And Dickens remembering once upon a time.)

Well it turns out that *that* was due to the way we genocided (fancy word for murdered a whole lot of people) on both sides of the Atlantic.

So many that we decarbonised the atmosphere and triggered the cold.

We have not been good stewards of the planet

https://globalnews.ca/news/4924534/little-ice-age-death-55-million-indigenous-people-colonization-study/

h/t @jonesmurphy

‘Little Ice Age’ caused by death of 55-million Indigenous people after colonization: study

Colonization of the Americas at the end of the 15th century killed so many people, it disturbed Earth's climate, according to a new study.

Global News

Show thread

Martin Vermeer FCD 2d ago

@hypostase @jonesmurphy AKA the Ruddiman hypothesis. And by the way, it is not correct to call the whole event a genocide: most of the dying was caused by epidemics of European germs that spread among a native American population lacking immunity to them.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379118307261#sec4

Show thread

Jones Murphy

@martinvermeer @hypostase pure bullshit. The population collapse in Africa wasn't because of any germs. It was started with swords & crossbows & finished with hot lead. It was very much the same story across the Americas, with tremendous regional variations depending on the murderousness of European settlers. For instance, the Native American population percentage collapse in the US was much greater than in neighboring Mexico & Canada. Germs don't work like that at all.