Posted on 07/12/2015 7:02:06 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
No, not really. But the conflicting headlines I’m seeing this week might as well say that. Apparently we’re all still doomed, but our first item in recent climate news deals with a different phenomenon than the usual screeds which, rather than melting the ice caps and drowning all of the coastal cities, is going to bring on a new mini-ice starting in about fifteen years. Rather than carbon emissions or fracking, the culprit this time is the sun. (From the Daily Mail)
The Earth could be headed for a ‘mini ice age’ researchers have warned.
A new study claims to have cracked predicting solar cycles – and says that between 2020 and 2030 solar cycles will cancel each other out.
This, they say, will lead to a phenomenon known as the ‘Maunder minimum’ – which has previously been known as a mini ice age when it hit between 1646 and 1715, even causing London’s River Thames to freeze over.
The new model of the Sun’s solar cycle is producing unprecedentedly accurate predictions of irregularities within the Sun’s 11-year heartbeat.
Another “Maunder minimum” could certainly lead to our living to see interesting times. No matter how much I read about this subject though, I’ve never been entirely clear on the entire sunspot thing. The sun allegedly runs in some sort of eleven year cycle where sunspots peak in frequency and severity and then diminish for a time. It’s not the sunspots themselves which are causing havoc so much as they are indicators of generally increased solar activity and output. The more “busy” the sun is, the more we heat up. When it “goes to sleep” as described in the article, we cool down.
When the big minimum hit in the later 1600s mankind was fairly well crippled as growing seasons were disrupted and places froze which really shouldn’t have. If that happens again now I don’t suppose man will be much better equipped to deal with it and food supplies could become a problem quickly. But when I see predictions like these I’m always left with the same sorts of questions. First, if a rapid decrease in sunspot activity can cause such dramatic cooling, why is it that the recent higher levels of sunspots can’t possibly account for any warming we’ve seen?
Also, I’m willing to accept that we’ve got some excellent tools for monitoring the sun’s activities these days, particularly with satellites orbiting the star at various times and much better telescopes. But what about the older readings which are going into these calculations? Surely they were based on results from far more modest equipment. Let’s just say there could be room for healthy skepticism here. Also, the “experts” don’t all seem to have gotten the sunspot memo. In the same week that the ice age alert was going out, a different group of climate experts launched a slightly different headline.
Sea Levels Could Rise At Least 20 Feet
Even if world manages to limit global warming to 2°C the target number for current climate negotiations sea levels may still rise at least 6 meters (20 feet) above their current heights, radically reshaping the worlds coastline and affecting millions in the process.
That finding comes from a new paper published on Thursday in Science that shows how high sea levels rose the last time carbon dioxide levels were this high…
The study examined past changes and laid out a framework for using them to refine our understanding of what the future holds for coastal communities. According to separate research by Climate Central, a 20-foot sea level rise would reshape the U.S. coast, causing Louisiana to lose its boot and transforming the Bay Area into the Bays Area by forming a second inland bay. It would also threaten the world’s coastal nations and megacities.
If the planet starts freezing over in fifteen years and I’m still somehow kicking around for some reason, I’ll be happy to apologize for being a doubting Thomas. Conversely, if the oceans swallow up the coastal cities I’ll similarly issue a mea culpa, even though my new beachfront property 100 miles inland will doubtless go way up in value. But we’ve been given all sorts of remarkable predictions about global weather patterns and effects over the course of my life and I’m not ready to invest in a dog sled just yet. Or water wings for that matter.
Back in the 70s, our science teacher kept saying we were heading into another mini ice age. I forget, when did it come through?
Why no more tomatoes?
Thanks. I will.
The rising sea level (flood) prediction came from the school that does general circulation models of the earth's atmosphere, which has, since their funding stream became politicized, consistently jiggered their models to try to exclude any non-human causation other than things already built into general circulation models (like the Pacific decadal cycle), produced ever more alarming prediction even as their models drifted further from observations, corrupted data by preferring data from urban surface stations which need correction to data from rural stations and the like.
See my post #24 below.
Bet on needing a parka. The solar climate modelers can make models that are correct back for millions of years, the general circulation types who believe in “global warming” can’t get their models to fit a century of data without basically hand-fitting it, and then it goes wrong the previous century or the next decade.
RV’s today use the same principle in their refrigerators only there is generally 3 ways to run them. 110 volt AC current, 12 volt DC current and propane. Propane is the same principle as your pictured fridge. A small pilot size flame is all that is needed and it changes the refrigerant from a liquid to a gas which is where the cooling effect takes place. Instead of R-22 freon it uses amonia, very corrosive and is generally the reason you don’t see house size AC anymore. The units for houses were quite large to provide enough cooling for a house also.
Decades ago the local gas companies tried marketing the units but gave up because of size and corrosive amonia.
Probably similar to the technology in a electric/propane fridge in an RV.
If it gets too cold, especially at night, tomatoes won’t set fruit. I mean, if we’re just talking a few degrees drop, that’s one thing; we can use cloches and plastic, greenhouses, etc. for the tomatoes and peppers.
BUT - if it’s truly an Ice Age, that’s a whole ‘nother pile of compost!
Good points. :)
Yes, but...
Ironically, the 23mil who will die from the cold, won't be the ones that Ayers wanted to expunge.
They will more likely be the ones who vote for Socialist nonsense.
As I said for years. The most damaging effect of the Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming crowd is the damage they have done and are doing to the reputation and public view of Science.
Your post confirms that. This author is a poor source to get this information from.
I will be growing tomatoes in front of my patio doors, just like I do every winter, except, now I’ll do it in the winter too. Even just 1 cherry tomato improves a salad 100%. JMHO
Agreed! :)
...we can only hope....meanwhile..
life becomes cold, short and brutal
bow hunting polar bears is a requirement for survival
as is guarding the stash
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Global Warming on Free Republic here, here, and here
Playing both sides against the middle so no matter what happens, they’re right.
Or heating, or cooling or temperatures that stay the same. In a worst case scenario millions of unicorns will fall from the sky and take over the earth...
In short, Global Warming Predicts Nothing and Explains Everything.
“ronically, the best instrumentation available indicates that there has actually been a decrease in the rate of sea level rise over the last 20 years.”
Well, you just shot to hell any chance you had for a government or university grant.
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