Posted on 02/21/2015 4:17:47 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
A snow-mobile pulls a man on snow board on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts following a winter storm February 15, 2015. The U.S. Northeast struggled to dig out on Sunday from another major winter storm that made February the snowiest month in Boston's history, but bitter sub zero cold and huge drifts hampered the effort. Massive snowfall from Boston's fourth major snowstorm in two weeks set a record for the city's snowiest month since weather records were kept, the National Weather Service said. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Forget global warming, it’s more likely we’re on the cusp of another Little Ice Age than of a warming Armageddon. The brutal winter that has hammered the U.S. Northeast, Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Quebec could become the norm in the Northern Hemisphere for the next 30 years if a growing number of solar physicists are right.
Our sun goes through very predictable 11-year cycles. The current one began in 2008 and is expected to produce among the fewest sunspots and most diminished solar radiation of any of the 24 cycles that have been carefully recorded by scientists going back nearly three centuries.
And Cycle 25, which will “peak” in 2022, is expected to be the weakest cycle since the 17th century, when the Earth last encountered such a feeble sun, our planet was plunged into the depths of what has become known as the Little Ice Age.
The sun-climate connection makes perfect sense; far more sense than the theory that a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is trapping solar radiation close to the Earth’s surface and dangerously warming the planet and changing our climate.
This is especially true because even according to the most devoted global-warming believers, a buildup of CO2 is not enough to trigger dangerous warming. Some other “forcing” factor is needed to push worldwide temperatures higher. But so far, no one knows with certainty what that factor might be. And given that global temperatures have not risen appreciably in 17 years, no forcing seems to be occurring.
Think about this: What makes daytime usually warmer than the night? Exposed spaces warmer than shady ones? Clear days warmer than cloudy ones and summer warmer than winter?
In every case, the answer is the sun.
The sun’s profound influence on Earth’s climate shouldn’t surprise anyone (although there are climate scientists who argue its influence is minimal). Sol has a mass more than 300,000 times that of Earth and a core temperature of around 15-million degrees Celsius.
And in galactic terms, the sun is just across the street.
Even small changes in the sun’s output are going to have profound influence on weather and crops on Earth, and on the advancement or retreat of glaciers, forests and deserts – perhaps even on trade, architecture, war, human population and the spread of disease.
A resting sun – the current downturn is being called a “solar lull” – should be of far greater concern than the chance (and it is only just a chance) that idling SUVs and flatulating cows will alter the atmosphere and, indirectly, increase the frequency and intensity of severe weather.
When we last witnessed a solar lull of similar magnitude (in the early decades of the 19th century), our planet had just finished a warming period not unlike that of the 20th century. The onset of what was known as the Dalton Minimum meant harsh, harsh winters in North America, Europe and Russia, along with some intense droughts and famines.
Some have even compared the slow cycles we are currently entering to the granddaddy of all solar lulls, the 17th century Maunder Minimum during which average Northern Hemispheric temperatures were nearly 2C below where they are now.
It seems unlikely temperatures will get as cold now as they did then, or for as long. In addition to greatly reduced solar activity, the 17th century also had more intense volcanic activity than any century since and more than any century dating back 1,000 years before it.
During the 1600s when the sun was weaker, there were also six “climatically significant eruptions” that expelled enough ash and particles to cause lower temps worldwide for a year or more – perhaps even for a decade in some cases.
Politicians and activists need to stop obsessing on manmade climate change and focus on what to do about three decades of COLD.
In fairness tho, we're at a balmy 22° tonight, with a 41° heat wave guesstimated for tomorrow !
Which invariably means many of the idiots will be out in shorts, lowering their resistance to all manner of critters, and then hack/snot/sneezing it onto all the rest of us next week.
It's always somethin' . . .
LOLOL!
I’m 20 miles north of Dallas and tomorrow, Sunday morning, will be in the 40s with cold rain. Sunday evening will be in the low 30s with freezing rain and sleet. Monday morning, bridges and roads will be icy. More sleet and possible snow will fall. Tuesday temps will still be below freezing. Finally by Wed., ice will go away.
This is the worst we have had since winter started. We won’t be on the road on Monday or Tuesday. We made sure we will have proper food until this is over.
One family member lives in Ithaca, New York, and one in Ohio. They really have it bad and have had it bad for a number of days.
I feel for all of you in northern states who are having such cold weather and snow and ice.
I’m in the Boston area and the cold is tolerable...doesn’t bother me at all, but the HUGE,8-10 foot snowbanks on corners makes pulling into some intersections very,very dangerous.
This too shall pass.:-)
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Sorry, my brother and sister freepers. It’s been around 70 for weeks here in SoCal. However, we can do you one favor: we’re gonna rain down on all the fancy gowns and hairdos on the oscars. Which, even though I always watch the thing, makes me smile.
We are lucky hear in El Paso it’s been in and out of the 70’s all week.
Every location in the country has risks of something. I did live in hurricane country, still have a house in that area.
Watch pulling out in the street and those corners when you can't see cars for the snow. Be careful.
Read an article on FR today and there are going to be black people outside the Oscars, demonstrating because there is no black person nominated to get an Oscar. Perhaps Al Sharpton will be there as he was the first to dump on the Oscar people for not having a black get an Oscar.
Today was sunny and in the 60s. That ends tomorrow.
Yesterday in the I.E. (Inland Empire/SoCal) I was in shorts and tee shirt doing some garden clean up. Today was cooler had to wear long pants and long sleeve tee shirt. Rain tomorrow. We need it badly here in drought ridden SoCal. Too bad for the oscars, don’t really care if they get wet. :))
Seasonally, it has been Winter for a while - his observation is that it is only the first week of Winter and each of the weeks will be 2 years long before Winter is done...
“That water will have to go someplace so rivers are going to flood and go into homes along the way.”
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Yep,that happened to me in my former home and no river was involved...just heavy rain on top of lots of snow. Brutal.
Always somehting.
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Global warming is a hoax democrats fabricated to turn the USA into a socialist state where no individual can own property
Obama-Style Climate and Energy Programs Have Failed Everywhere They’ve Been Tried
Global Warming on Free Republic
evil maniacal laughter..........
Gee. 22?
That’s a heat wave.
It was -12 last night and it’s NOT the coldest we’ve hit here this winter by any means.
Trade?
Something tells me that you do that regularly.
That very thing happened to me the other night. All nice and toasty, then bam, cold feet right in the back.
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