[boris]

"From the graphs that you posted, it appears that the Northern Hemisphere has warmed up 0.3 - 0.4 deg C (0.5 - 0.7 deg F) during the past 24 years, while the Southern Hemisphere has stayed constant."

"What do you think is the cause?"

It could be random variation; the database is not long enough to say anything about causes, or whether or not there is really a trend at all. If we had perhaps 10,000 years of such highly-correlated data, we could begin to discuss whether or not humans are causing "warming".

Some comments: The website I get this from USED to compare the actual measurements with the "best" computer simulations. Apparently the computer simulation folks made them stop on copyright grounds(?). Suffice to say that the computer predictions were about 10 times what is actually measured!

Also, it is known that the Sun is slowly brightening (the "Solar Constant" isn't constant). Some estimates were that 1/3 to 2/3 of "warming" might be driven by this brightening.

Finally, consider that Neptune's moon Triton, 1.7 billion miles from the Sun, has experienced a 10-degree C warming over about a decade. You can read about it at Triton Warming from MIT.

Al Gore thinks there is a huge traffic problem on Triton.

--Boris

[Rocky]

Thanks for your response. Concerning Triton, I guess they should add Triton to the Kyoto Protocol. I nominate Al Gore to be the local inspector to verify compliance.