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| Christopher Columbus on Santa Maria in 1492 |
After this, the Spanish conquistadors followed and not only brought diseases with them, like smallpox, measles, influenza to which the Native Americans had no immunity, but they also disrupted their lives and waged war, which caused the Native American population to go from about 61 million in 1492 to six million in 1650.
With the huge drop in the population of Native Americans, the environment of the Americas began to change. The Native Americans had used fire to clear land for agriculture and improve grazing land and with the decline in their populations, forests began to grow back and revert to woodlands. By 1610, the growth of all those trees had absorbed enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to cause a drop of at least seven parts per million in atmospheric concentrations of the most prominent greenhouse gas and start the Little Ice Age.
With the huge drop in the population of Native Americans, the environment of the Americas began to change. The Native Americans had used fire to clear land for agriculture and improve grazing land and with the decline in their populations, forests began to grow back and revert to woodlands. By 1610, the growth of all those trees had absorbed enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to cause a drop of at least seven parts per million in atmospheric concentrations of the most prominent greenhouse gas and start the Little Ice Age.
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| Five Indians and a Captive, painted by Carl Wimar, 1855 |
Archaeological surveys and tree ring data support the case that human impacts on the planet have been dramatic. And evidence also points toward the period of cooler temperatures from the 16th to 19th centuries being caused by depopulation and the reforestation in New World.
So, a major contributor to the Little Ice Age was the massive depopulation of the Americas and reforestation, which created carbon sequestration by forests. Just imagine what is happening now with increasing growth in human population, continuing CO2 emissions through burning fossil fuels and our failure to reduce human greenhouse gas emissions.
So, a major contributor to the Little Ice Age was the massive depopulation of the Americas and reforestation, which created carbon sequestration by forests. Just imagine what is happening now with increasing growth in human population, continuing CO2 emissions through burning fossil fuels and our failure to reduce human greenhouse gas emissions.
