Climate changes of yore

Paleoclimatology is not just a hot topic now, it's also cool. And there are some serious implicatons for what is happening around the globe right now. Aside from the heedless arguments over who or what is to be balmed for current climate change, and constant carping from those who say it ain't so, the portent of climate change is heavy-duty. And a newly published book summarizes the scientific information gleaned about the many and the cataclysmic climate changes in ages past.

Here's a review of Ice, Mud and Blood: Lessons from Climates Past over on Nature.com. One serious message among many in this book: when a climate shift is triggered through the complex climate mechanisms of the planet, there is often a positive feedback loop that accelerates and accentuates the changes until they max out.