I read an interesting article on ABC's web site today discussing how climate change could have knocked down the Roman Empire. The article is called Did Climate Change Kill the Roman Empire. I think the article title is misleading, and typical of the media's need to push fear and all-or-nothing theories at us, but that's probably a little too off topic.
In summary, the article follows a new method of using stalactites to determine the amount of rain fall that a region receives, not at a century level but at the seasonal level within a given year.
For me, the key take-away is that if times are tough, food shortages, barbarians at the gates, etc., then climate change can be a devastating force. Considering how many books making the US-Roman Empire comparison populate the best seller list, this could be an interesting item to consider.
