The idea of the unexplained causing mass hysteria is absolutely nothing new in world history. The only difference today is the speed at which information can travel, but that doesn't mean that it's better quality information. We can learn a ton from our past mistakes, what is going on today with global warming zealots reminds me of what was happening in 1697.
Moll Dyer was an old woman who was blamed for the brutal winter of 1697. What was really going on at that time was that the Sun had entered a grand solar minimum and the world all over was experiencing very cold weather this wasn't just a North American phenomenon.
Whenever something can't easily be explained back in those days it had to be a supernatural force that was the cause. The hysteria over global warming is the same people don't understand what really is happening they just blame CO2 because they have been told its CO2, much like the colonists believed it to be witchcraft at play because in Europe at this time this was the popular belief.
The town in question here where the story takes place is in the colonial town of Leonardtown, Maryland. It is located right on the coast which made the town perfect for growing tobacco and shipping it to England. Moll Dyer was an eccentric old woman who lived alone on the outskirts of town in the woods. When the winter of 1697 struck colonists began to assume witchcraft because she was not struggling with the cold like they were. Moll Dyer had learned natural healing remedies from being in the woods this was the first piece of evidence towards witchcraft. When I fast forward to today everyone screaming global warming is like the people who are screaming witchcraft they lack knowledge of the natural world. They don't know that nature follows cyclical patterns including the weather. The weather channel did a great piece on the folklore of Moll Dyer I just wanted to give my spin on it and to remind everyone we don't want to fall into the same trap Europe and the colonists fell into this was not the only case.