Cynthia Barnett, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Environmental Journalist-in-Residence, was the opening speaker at the Blue Tech Forum 2023 on May 16 held in Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Barnett’s presentation “A Short History of Rain and Witchcraft” focused on the role of Edinburgh Castle in the storm-related witchcraft trials of the Little Ice Age, when thousands of victims across central Europe were executed for allegedly conjuring storms. She also provided a glimpse of rain history, from the surprising story of the Mackintosh raincoat invented in Scotland to the unceasing human desire to control rain.

Barnett is the author of Rain: A Natural and Cultural History published in 2016. It is the first book to tell the story of rain and shows how it can be a unifying force in a fractured world. The book begins four billion years ago with the torrents that filled the oceans and builds to the current impact of climate change.

Posted: May 30, 2023
Category: Alumni News, College News
Tagged as: Blue Tech Forum 2023, Climate change, Cynthia Barnett, Rain: A Natural and Cultural History