I'm reading Volcano Weather by Henry and Elizabeth Stommel. It's the story of 1816, the year some called "Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death." Only one person apparently died in the event - and it does not seem definite that his death was caused by the weather; it may have been a heart attack.

The eruption of Mount Tambora put enough ash into the air that it darkened the area, making day appear night. The ash cloud drifted and apparently changed the weather in Western Europe, Eastern Canada and New England. Significantly lower temperatures killed crops and ultimately altered dietary habits, the economy and population shifts.

I don't know a lot about the event, but I find it interesting as an actual episode of climate change in our recent history. I have no interest in using it for any political goals. I'm interested in using it - maybe - as portending a similar event in the future.

Suppose a bigger volcano erupted in a different location and the ash cloud lowered temperatures world-wide by several degrees?

This book is good, but another book on the subject was released earlier this year. I've put it on hold at the library and I'm looking forward to seeing what it adds to my knowledge of this.

Damn, but I do love a good WHAT IF?!?

One other thing: The novel I just finished, Frankenstein, was written by Mary Shelley. She and her friends were sitting around, suffering through the uncommonly cold summer of 1816, when they decided to write horror stories.