Tpo27

In this set of material, the article and the lecture disagree about the theories explain the possible causes of the Little Ice Age period in few regions in the Earth. The reading passage presents three causes which are the disruption in the ocean currents, the volcanic eruption clouds, and the indirect cooling of the climate with the decline in the human population. However, the professor rebuffs those causes with providing new arguments which suggest that those causes are out of dated. He explains that as the following.

First, the reading states that before the Little Ice Age, the climate was warmer enough to melt the Ice and send a huge amount of fresh water which consequently disturb the Gulf stream. As a result, the Little Ice Age created. While the professor refutes this theory, he explains that the new studies show the melted glaciers drove the fresh water towards Europe and North America, and none of that water went to the south and disrupted the South Gulf stream.Therefore, the theory of ocean current is not possible to cause of that period.

Second, the reading passage suggests the volcanic eruption cloud approach are a possible reason behind that time of the Ice Age. Whereas the speaker opposes this theory also, he agrees it would be true the eruption of volcanos creates a gray cloud of dust, and if it is high enough would drastically block the sunlight and cool the weather, and the Ice Age would create.But, there is no evidence of such kind of massive volcanic eruption happened before that Ice Age and it needs to be repeated to build that enormous climate changing.

Third, the author thinks the substantial decline in human population opened the chance to new forces and huge trees to grow which in turn decreased the level of carbon monoxide gas;"the greenhouse gas," in the atmosphere which indirectly kept the earth cold enough to create that ice age. However, the lecture casts doubts this theory. Also, he believes it is weak to suggest the decline of the human population would be long enough to create this kind of weather change. Moreover, the reduction in the people and the decrease in farmland were not long enough to grow the huge forests back. In fact, human population rebounds again, and they recut the trees within the short period. Therefore, it would be insufficient time to create that drastic cold in the temperature or create the Little Ice Age.