"Humanity evolved in an Ice Age in which glaciers covered much of the world. But starting about 15,000 years ago, temperatures began to climb. Civilization and al of recorded history occurred in this warm period--the long summer of the human species. Fagan illuminates the centuries long pattern of human adaptation to the challenges of an ever-changing climate--and how climate change gave rise to civilization"--Back cover.

A new perspective on familiar events in history describes how a 500-year change in climate that lasted from A.D. 1300 until 1850 shaped modern European history.

Colorado's climate has warmed in recent decades, and climate models unanimously project this warming trend will continue into the future. Colorado experiences numerous climate related disasters, such as floods, droughts and wildfires, which will continue to occur in the future and pose serious hazards to public safety and the economy, regardless of the rate at which the climate warms. Key vulnerabilities are defined as "those aspects of the state's...

The current El Niño event is very strong, and is expected to affect weather around the globe, and in Colorado, through next spring. The impacts of El Niño are more complex over Colorado than other parts of the West. Strong El Niño conditions improve the odds for wetter-than-normal conditions in most parts of Colorado, especially in fall and spring. However, strong El Niño conditions also tend to bring dry mid-winters to our North-Central mountains....

Drought, and its various manifestations, is one of the largest - if not the largest - concern about weather and climate impacts in the Interior West. Quantification of the economic impacts of drought is important because it allows decision makers to document and justify requests for disaster assistance, and to demonstrate and evaluate the benefits of drought mitigation programs.