TPO 27 integrated writing Little ice age

The issue both the reading and the listening focus on is causes for the Little Ice Age, but the listening casts doubt at three main points. At the first point, the reading states that cooling was caused by ocean currents disruption. Since melted glaciers sent cold freshwater into the Gulf Stream, they disrupted the current and caused the Little Ice Age. According to the listening, temperatures were reduced not only in Europe and North America, but also in the Southern Hemisphere. Current disruption would only affect the former, thus this cannot be a valid explanation for the cooling. At the second point, the reading mentions that volcanic eruptions led to dark clouds of dust and sulfur gas being sent into the atmosphere. The clouds blocked sunlight, thus decreasing global temperatures. However, the listening argues that adequate clouds to create global cooling also would be able to create noticeable visual effects like dramatically colored sunsets and colored snow. Since no records of such events exists, dark clouds were not strong enough to have caused the Little Ice Age. At the third point, the reading believes that human populations decreased substantially, so forest trees started growing. These trees absorbed carbon dioxide, decreased the green house effect and cooled the Earth. On the contrary, the listening confirms that trees did not have enough time to regrow. Human populations decreased, but quickly grew back and started cutting down forests again. Therefore, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed was insufficient to create the Little Ice Age.