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Sun and global warming: a cosmic connection?
BBC News ^ | 11/14/2007 | Richard Black

Posted on 11/15/2007 9:14:04 AM PST by cogitator

Long article: linked above. Here's the intro:

In February 2007, depending on what newspaper you read, you might have seen an article detailing a "controversial new theory" of global warming.

The idea was that variations in cosmic rays penetrating the Earth's atmosphere would change the amount of cloud cover, in turn changing our planet's reflectivity, and so the temperature at its surface.

This, it was said, could be the reason why temperatures have been seen to be varying so much over the Earth's history, and why they are rising now.

The theory was detailed in a book, The Chilling Stars, written by Danish scientist Henrik Svensmark and British science writer Nigel Calder, which appeared on the shelves a week after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had published its landmark report concluding it was more than 90% likely that humankind's emissions of greenhouse gases were warming the planet.

In truth, the theory was not new; Dr Svensmark's team had proposed it a decade earlier, while the idea of a cosmic ray influence on weather dates back to 1959 and US researcher Edward Ney.

The bigger question is whether it amounts to a theory of global warming at all.


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: agitprop; change; climate; mechanisms; propaganda; sun
A very comprehensive "public media" examination of this topic.
1 posted on 11/15/2007 9:14:07 AM PST by cogitator
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To: cogitator

know what’s so funny? the Sun could fart and we’d be gone in a flash. solar panels, hybrids and all.


2 posted on 11/15/2007 9:17:04 AM PST by Ancient Drive
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To: cogitator

What sun? It’s -6 today and the sun is pretty much out to lunch.


3 posted on 11/15/2007 9:18:04 AM PST by RightWhale (anti-razors are pro-life)
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To: cogitator

Hmmm ... The “Weather Theory” ... sounds plausible. We need to invest Billions of Government funds to investigate this phenomena called “Weather” and its effect on temperature.


4 posted on 11/15/2007 9:29:13 AM PST by TexGuy
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To: cogitator
Cosmic rays? We can’t talk about cosmic rays. It would complicate the effort to develop the Carbon Trading Industry. Let’s treat them as comic book material along with string theory. /sarc.
5 posted on 11/15/2007 10:05:15 AM PST by jonrick46
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks

ping (posted under Science because that’s what it’s about!)


6 posted on 11/15/2007 1:33:23 PM PST by cogitator
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To: cogitator
Thanks for the link will read that tonite.
7 posted on 11/18/2007 8:40:32 AM PST by GaltMeister (All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.)
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