I think what struck me the most about the Behringer piece, although not really under any of these questions is this underlying almost colonial apologist tone. To me this was most visible when Britian was described as being a support to Ireland during the potato famine, when in reality the colonial force was not only the cause of the famine but led to a significantly greater loss of life than was necessary. I do feel that the little ice age is a useful case for climate models as we begin to consider how human behavior might adapt to a changing climate. Given the LIA as a case, it seems clear to me that human behavior is not predictable in a way that can be easily blended with trends modeled from the natural sciences. I am uncomfortable with the assertion that the enlightenment and the "birth of reason" led to a decrease in suffering from climate events in this period. I think it is often too easy to ascribe a lack of intelligence to people we do not understand.
The graph on page 21 of the Mauelshagen shows the increasing rate of CO2 released in the atmosphere by modeling rates from different centuries. This clearly shows a link between our increasingly industrialized society and CO2 output.