Global warming: Will the Sun come to our rescue?

New Scientist ^ | 9/18/2006 | Stuart Clark

[Neville72]

It is known as the Little Ice Age. Bitter winters blighted much of the northern hemisphere for decades in the second half of the 17th century. The French army used frozen rivers as thoroughfares to invade the Netherlands. New Yorkers walked from Manhattan to Staten Island across the frozen harbour. Sea ice surrounded Iceland for miles and the island's population halved. It wasn't the first time temperatures had plunged: a couple of hundred years earlier, between 1420 and 1570, a climatic downturn claimed the Viking colonies on Greenland, turning them from fertile farmlands into arctic wastelands.

Could the sun have been to blame? We now know that, curiously, both these mini ice ages coincided with prolonged lulls in the sun's activity - the sunspots and dramatic flares that are driven by its powerful magnetic field.

Now some astronomers are predicting that the sun is about to enter another quiet period. ...

for those who want to pay/waste $4.95 for the rest of this logic-free article here's the link: http://www.newscientistspace.com...125691.100 ________________________________________________________

[Neville72]

What an amazing lack of logic.....or is it intentional? The sun will save us from global warming? A lull in activity? Logical question #1:Shouldn't periodic decreases in the sun's activity, accepted wholeheartedly in this article, logically imply that there are periodic increases in the sun's activity? Didn't the sun's activity HAVE to increase since the Little Ice Age or those same New Yorkers wouldn't need the Staten Island ferry between December and March, now would they?

But wait, you say, maybe later in the article they acknowlege that the sun has waxing and waning periods in its activity which could explain ALL of the earth's historically documented warming and cooling periods like those of the dinosaurs frolicking happily year-round for millions of years in balmy Alberta.

I'll bet they acknowleged NO SUCH THING because to do so would be to ADMIT that it is far, far likelier especially considering the historically documented warming and cooling phases common FOR EONS, that climate change is entirely the fault of changing SOLAR ACTIVITY and not man's at all. To do so would mean an over arching belief system of the Left and a convenient vehicle which allows them to be scolding, controlling busybodies and good little socialists would be shattered.....forever

[Always Right]

I think they are trying to hedge their bets so when the warming stops occuring they have some explaination.

[NordP]

Excellent post and points.

[Renfield]

We're about due for a cooling trend. Not a short one, like the "little Ice Age", but one of the regular glacial periods that have been recurring throughout the Pleistocene. It might happen tomorrow, or it might take another couple of thousand years, but sometime very soon (in terms of a geologic time scale), we'll plunge back into a cold, dry climate....and when we do, most people on earth will starve. I'm all for global warming.

[NordP]

I grew up in Minnesota...I say BRING ON THE SUN!!!

BIG fan of global warming...BIG fan.

[financeprof]

I'm not about to blow $4.95 telling me something I can find for free in numerous places. However, I am curious to know whether the article discusses recent predictions by the Russian climatologist Abdusamatov that we we will soon experience a cooling period due to variations in solar activity. See this article for a brief overview.

[trashcanbred]

I don't know about the article but a number of articles from other serious science publications say this whole episode of warming could be simply from the sun. That we have warming periods and cooling periods and it is the cyclic nature of the sun.

One piece of evidence that this may very well be true is the condition of Mars's ice caps. Scientists believe they are receding at a very fast rate. You can find that here: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/mars_snow_011206-1.html

[Uncle Miltie]

"a climatic downturn claimed the Viking colonies on Greenland, turning them from fertile farmlands into arctic wastelands."

I say: Drive SUVs until Greenland is green again!

[Elpasser]

"One piece of evidence that this may very well be true is the condition of Mars's ice caps. Scientists believe they are receding at a very fast rate."

If Bush had only signed the Kyoto Agreement, even the Mars ice melt might have been avoided...

[SF Republican]

You and me both; a Cal Berkley professor said in 100 years San Francisco will have weather like Tijuana which he said to make it sound bad, if he had said San Diego everyone would have been all for it. Global warming, I love it.

[free_at_jsl.com]

FYI the solar activity lately has been intense. It might be more logical to conclude that solar output increases during periods with lots of sunspots, and decreases when there aren't any.

[NordP]

You bet! Good Point! I'm livin' in America's Finest City as we speak.

I love the people, lakes, air, etc. of Minnesota, but the weather???? NEVER AGAIN!

I'm living in San Diego and thawing out nicely---lovin' every minute of Paradise.

[SF Republican]

On some foggy days I dream of La Jolla and Windansea Beach.

[Tom D.]

I was watching a TV show talking about the Mt. St. Helens volcano eruption in 1980. That got me to thinking about some big volcano eruption in the 1800s where there was so much dust in the sky that it reflected the sun's rays to the extent that the weather was so cool that the year was referred to as the year without a summer.

Over the past couple of decades, there has been some effort to clean up the atmosphere, thus removing a lot of the small particles out of the air. It occurred to me that perhaps having fewer particles in the air to reflect the sun's heat could make some contribution to the apparent warming we may be having.

Imagine that, the eco-nuts are contributing to global warming.

[UnklGene]

[TaxRelief]

Imagine that, the eco-nuts are contributing to global warming.

And what about all their solar panels that absorb heat from the sun, thus preventing natural reflection and refraction that, particularly in deserts, would otherwise be helping to cool the planet?

:-D

[TaxRelief]

Imagine that, the eco-nuts are contributing to global warming.

And what about there urban planting guidelines that require trees planted every so many feet to absorb the heat generated by "urban density"? It should be obvious to the eco-nuts that heat should be allowed to escape to the stratosphere, not trapped by lush rooftop gardens and sidewalk pin oaks.

:-D