"Then, roughly 500,000 years ago, something did change."
Yes, a remote ancestor of Phil Jones realized proto humans were changing the climate and we all got religion. This caused the mountains to move creating the great hiatus. FOI is useless, despite protestations from Dr Marta Mirazon Lahr (Cantab).

Mar 16, 2018 at 8:46 AM | Mark Hodgson

"Then, roughly 500,000 years ago, something did change."

Did mankind discover how to make fire, and realised that barbecued meat and veg was more tasty and digestible than raw?

Mar 16, 2018 at 10:22 AM | stewgreen
The ocean plastic sightseers are sailing a tough metal hulled yacht, hopefully with hitech anti corrosion and anti fouling paint.

These yachts were not designed with any facility for sewage treatment or rubbish disposal, other than dumping at sea

Originally CB 37 "Barclays Adventurer" renamed "Sea Dragon" owned by Pangaea Exploration USA

Specifications of the Challenge 72 one-design

The 12-strong race fleet of Challenge 72-footers was developed from the Challenge 67s and was specifically designed to be strong, safe and seaworthy in even the worst conditions and to be self-sufficient for long periods at sea, with enough fuel and water to take their crews safely to a distant port.

The yachts were also designed to be relatively easy to sail and handled by crews who are not professional. The yachts have a snakepit, an unusual feature that allows anyone working the halyards to 'hunker down' and shelter in strong wind and rain, and, more importantly, from waves washing over the deck. Designed by Rob Humphreys, the identical 72-foot (22 m) steel ocean racing yachts were built by Devonport Yachts in the UK by a new method using a unique flat-pack yacht assembly kit of precision cut laser steel panels.

Challenge 72
Length overall 72 ft (22 m) Length waterline61 ft (19 m)
Hull 50A mild steel
Deck Stainless steel

Mark. What a stupid comment by Dr Marta Mirazon Lahr (University of Cambridge) [if reorported correctly] that "Olorgesailie [is] a key reference site for understanding human evolution in Africa during [this period]". When this period was one of erosion at the site and left no sedimentary record.

Mar 15, 2018 at 11:17 PM | stewgreen
Re Sarah Woolaston
Of course the EU countries do this with each other as a matter of course in reclaiming the cost of treating non-residents from other member states. If you want privacy don't fall ill whilst visiting an EU country.

Mar 15, 2018 at 11:17 PM | stewgreen
Re Sarah Woolaston
Of course the EU countries do this with each other as a matter of course in reclaiming the cost of treating non-residents from other member states. If you want privacy don't fall ill whilst visiting an EU country.

"Changing environment influenced human evolution"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43401157

""[Technologically], things changed very slowly, if at all, over hundreds of thousands of years," he said.

Then, roughly 500,000 years ago, something did change.

A period of tectonic upheaval and erratic climate conditions swept across the region, and there is a 180,000 year interruption in the geological record due to erosion.

It was not only the landscape that altered, but also the plant and animal life in the region - transforming the resources available to our early ancestors."

"When the record resumes, the way of life of these early humans has completely changed.

"The speed of the transition is really remarkable," Dr Potts said. "Sometime in that [gap] there was a switch, a very rapid period of evolution.""

And much more in similar vein - so, rapid (non-man-made) climate change occurred, and it was hugely beneficial to human progress. But there's no joining the dots regarding the current, apparently man-made, climate change...