536 CE

A group of interdisciplinary scientists and historians got together to look at the history of coinage and found something else—the year 536 CE was the worst time to be alive.

Fascinating findings:

• ·         A fog descended upon Europe and lasted for about 18 months
• ·         With darkness came widespread crop failure and famine
• ·         Plagues took hold after famine
• ·         Summer snow fell in China; 70% to 80% of the population perished
• ·         Scandinavians abandoned entire cities
• ·         These events sealed the fate of the already-weakened Roman Empire
• ·         The Peruvian Moche civilization never recovered
• ·         Coincides with the Mayan Hiatus when expansion and building stopped
• ·         Tree rings around the world show years of slow or no growth
• ·         Took about a century to recover
• ·         World temperatures between 536 and 545 were the lowest in 2,000 years
• ·         Now known as the Late Antique Little Ice Age

Causes: 

• ·         A volcanic eruption in Iceland in 536 was the cause, initially
• ·         Another one near San Salvador, the Ilopango volcano
• ·         Another one in North America
• ·         Two more in Iceland in 540 and 547

Results:

Much of the world’s population was eliminated. Historians think the Ice Age and its resulting famine reduced the ability to fend off disease and a plague erupted in the Byzantine Empire in 541. Not unlike the Black Plague of the mid-1300s that killed 25 million in Europe, also following famine.

Conclusions:

The eternal hand-wringing of the 24-hour news cycle has instilled a sense of dread and panic in people and tragically affected our young people huddled over their smart phones. Compare to 536?

While the warming of the earth is causing disruptions, the last part of this current Ice Age doesn’t seem to carry the death impact of a good old-fashioned world-wide series of volcanic eruptions followed by famine.

A friend from years ago was the first I knew to refer to the current state as a “CO2-enriched” atmosphere. Good for plants. Good for food. Volcanoes/Ice Age—bad for plants, bad for food.

BTW, whatever happened to “anno Domini” (AD) and “Before Christ” (BC)? Now it’s current or common era (CE) and before current era (BCE). As dictated by ISO 8601.