I don't really see the point of repeating posts that appear at Thunderbolts as interested parties will visit the link on a regular basis anyhow. For those a little dubious of the EU and rarely visit here is a must see post that I can thoroughly recommend – go to www.thunderbolts.info/wp/2014/01/08/the-global-problem-of-turbulence-coo…
It is tongue in cheek and has just that nice touch of humour, ribbing the CAGW people quite gently. AJ Ransome is given some of the credit – if not most of it. A session at the Rotterdam Congress on Global Turbulence Cooling in the year 1647 is the centre piece. This was at the height of the Little Ice Age – when temperatures had plunged significantly (especially in the early 1640s). The political world outside the conference was in turmoil, with civil wars rampant in many parts of Europe. The Witchfinder General was patrolling his patch, and various alarmist tales of the Devil in the closet were doing the rounds. One particular speaker, it seems, had seriously come to the conclusion that it was all the fault of the new fangled windmill technology. The Netherlands were covered in them, and they had spread across the North Sea and had sprouted like mushrooms all over Europe. They even had a propensity to catch fire when the wind blew too hard, the blades turned into catherine wheels, spinning like mad and causing lots of friction. If that wasn't devilish enough we had a succession of cold fronts (or polar vortex in newspeak). Average temperatures had fallen since 1612 and scapegoats were necessary – it must have been human activity. The idea mere humans can cause changes to the Earth's climate system was as prevalent then as now – and in the 17th century the introduction of windmill pumping stations became the culprit. These were inventions prized as grain processors and were used to irrigate fields, a big advance in agriculture and milling. The Luddites were as common as they are today – and infested science circles too (as now). They actually discussed whether too many windmills whirling around, even on a day of gentle breezes, was to blame for the cool weather. It had become so cold there was a real decline in grain production and the freezing over of rivers and ponds extended even to European shipping lanes. Food shortages threatened to become a serious problem and we were all going to be encased in blocks of ice – the opposite of today's meme, 'we are all going to boil'. Oh well. Tweedle Dee .. or is it 'dum'