permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/08/18/ancient.global.warming/index.html
CNN: Study: Global warming sparked by ancient farming methods
By Shelby Lin Erdman
(CNN) -- Ancient man may have started global warming through massive deforestation and burning that could have 
permanently altered the Earth's climate, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Virginia and the 
University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
Primitive slash-and-burn agriculture permanently changed Earth's climate, 
according to a new study.

Primitive slash-and-burn agriculture permanently changed Earth's climate, 
according to a new study.

The study, published in the scientific journal Quaternary Science Reviews and reported on the University of Virginia's 
Web site, says over thousands of years, farmers burned down so many forests on such a large scale that huge amounts of 
carbon dioxide were pumped into the atmosphere. That possibly caused the Earth to warm up and forever changed the climate.

Lead study author William Ruddiman is a professor emeritus of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and a 
climate scientist.