William F. Ruddiman

The impact on climate from 200 years of industrial development is an everyday fact of life, but did humankind's active involvement in climate change really begin with the industrial revolution, as commonly believed? William Ruddiman's provocative new book argues that humans have actually been changing the climate for some 8,000 years - as a result...

It's a question that has engaged climate scientists for more than a decade: Not "if" human activity impacts the environment, but "when" did that impact start to be significant? Was it in the mid-18th century, as long believed, with the Industrial Revolution producing huge amounts in greenhouse gas emissions? Or did it actually begin thousands of...