Paying Attention to the History of Climate Change

One of the unfortunate consequences of the hyperbolic, circumscribed climate change discourse (It's all hoax, No it's not!) is that we don't pay enough attention to the climate change that did happen in prehistory, specifically the mega-droughts that combined with other factors to cripple ancient empires. These are complicated stories that are still being puzzled out by scientists, as I discuss in this longish piece at the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media. But I think these stories and the evidence of prehistoric drought are becoming clear enough for us to draw lessons from. Have a read and let me know over there what you think. UPDATE: Via John Fleck, I see there's an important new study on medieval megadroughts that adds to a robust body of literature.