William F. Ruddiman

William F. Ruddiman is a prominent American climate scientist known for his research on Earth's climate history and human impact on it. He is particularly famous for his theory that agricultural practices, starting thousands of years ago, began to influence the Earth’s climate well before the Industrial Revolution. Ruddiman argues that early farming activities, like rice cultivation and deforestation, increased greenhouse gas levels, which helped stabilize the climate. His work emphasizes the long-standing relationship between human activities and climate change, challenging the idea that significant human impact started only in the last century.