Scientists blame sun for global warming

[CaptainK]

Climate changes such as global warming may be due to changes in the sun rather than to the release of greenhouse gases on Earth.

Climatologists and astronomers speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Philadelphia say the present warming may be unusual - but a mini ice age could soon follow.

The sun provides all the energy that drives our climate, but it is not the constant star it might seem.

Careful studies over the last 20 years show that its overall brightness and energy output increases slightly as sunspot activity rises to the peak of its 11-year cycle.

And individual cycles can be more or less active.

The sun is currently at its most active for 300 years.

That, say scientists in Philadelphia, could be a more significant cause of global warming than the emissions of greenhouse gases that are most often blamed.
The researchers point out that much of the half-a-degree rise in global temperature over the last 120 years occurred before 1940 - earlier than the biggest rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

Using ancient tree rings, they show that 17 out of 19 warm spells in the last 10,000 years coincided with peaks in solar activity.


They have also studied other sun-like stars and found that they spend significant periods without sunspots at all, so perhaps cool spells should be feared more than global warming.
The scientists do not pretend they can explain everything, nor do they say that attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should be abandoned. But they do feel that understanding of our nearest star must be increased if the climate is to be understood.

[Talbot]

Now that I find to be rather better explanation than any of the other "scientific" explanations.

[Islandmike]

I think a number of different things are contributing to the rising temps. And I too have read the articles about Ole Sole and her 11 year cycles. That is not something we can control. However, with that said, I feel we are also contributing in a negative way to global warming, and we can control that. I am not assessing blame because I certainly do not have an answer, but I feel we need to get the situation under control before we back ourselfs into a corner. And to be honest, I think we will.

Mike & Paula
S/V Tivoli

[BC Mike]

And I think I agree with you, but I am always optomistic that sensible decisions by sensible people will be made, after we have exhausted all other options.
Michael

[ssullivan]

That's what *I* was trying to say in that other thread. We don't mean squat in the grand scheme of things. It is ego-centric of humanity to think it's that important in the sun/earth interaction.

Granted, I hate pollution which causes cancer, emphezyma, etc....

But... I really don't think we are doing anything that is making much of a difference in the Earth's temps when you compare it to the HUGE swings the Earth's temps before someone dug the first oil well.

[Alan Wheeler]

I agree. A volcanoe in full eruption puts more pollution into our atmosphere in one day, than we all can in one year. Yet nature can cope with the volcanoe.
But I do also believe we must have a balance. And there is one are I do have concern over. The rain forests. We are losing Rain forest around the world at a rate of 2 footbal feilds a second. Why am I concerned? Well here are some facts. The Amazon rain forest produces 40% of the worlds oxygen. It has floating in clouds above it, ruffly 9 billion tons of water at any given time. Give or take a buket full These are important places because of there size and what they do for the atmospheric balance and cycles of our planet.
As for the Sun, yes it has an 11yr cycle, but there are other cycles as well and these are on a much much bigger time frame. We simply don't have the records that go back far enough to see how the entire cycle works. Scientist also believe that there is a "companion" star maybe involved out there somewhere. Of course it is pure speculation at the mo, but this star is probably what sets off the larger asteriods and comets in another direction every few thousands of years. But if it is another star, they believe it also has a big influence on the sun when the two come close. Of course, when I say close, I am talking light years apart, and it's why no one really knows for sure. It is all mathmatic speculation at present.

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Alan Wheeler

But I do also believe we must have a balance. And there is one are I do have concern over. The rain forests. We are losing Rain forest around the world at a rate of 2 footbal feilds a second. Why am I concerned? Well here are some facts. The Amazon rain forest produces 40% of the worlds oxygen. It has floating in clouds above it, ruffly 9 billion tons of water at any given time. Give or take a buket full These are important places because of there size and what they do for the atmospheric balance and cycles of our planet.

This worries me a lot too. You always see trees and forests getting cut down/degraded, but seldom see new areas of trees growing. Plants, as Wheels says, are part of the buffer system which allows the planet to function without sudden, drastic change.

If we get rid of too many plants, especially the rain forest, and we're most certainly in trouble.

I've always wondered if someday, we'll have bottled air, like we have bottled water now. Someone from a hundred years ago would have laughed at the idea of bottled water. Now, in many places, it's a must.

The idea that air could become as polluted and/or oxygen imbalanced is frightening and frankly... kind of disgusting. This is why I hope to do my part and move over to solar/wind power in the next couple years.

[Islandmike]

We are pumping a lot of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and pollution into the waters and I think most people would agree this could be causing our planet issues. However, based on what I have read, one of the single biggest problems we are creating for our Earth is the destruction of the rain forests. The implications are staggering if we wipe them out. I do not have an answer, but I am afraid that ithis is one resource that if destroyed could have serious reprecussions for all of us. It will change the complextion of this world and how it works. Not trying to be an alarmist, just voicing a concerned opinion.

Mike & Paula
S/V Tivoli

[Alan Wheeler]

Some of the worlds desert area's were once forest. Like much of the Sahara for instance. When a forest is large enough, it creates it's own weather. Cut it down and the weather changes. They are seeing that in many area's around the world now. Amazon forest is still rain forrest. Get into an area where a large amount has been turned into farm land and the rain fall is just "normal". We even have an area in the deep south of NZ called Fiordland. It has a rainfall of 7m(21ft)/yr. Yet you can almost draw a line between the high rain fall area and the area of more "normal" rain fall and that is the line of forest and bush and mountanouse region.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Hello all,
I am suprised that no one here is aware of the direct correlation between the increase in global warming and the decrease in pirates. Being that I am not a scientist I will direct your attention to www.venganza.org. Where the proponents of the Flying Spaghetti Monster have proven that global warming and pirates are directly correlated. Here's the graph that proves it.



I hope that you all will take this seriously and become pirates. The whole world is counting on you.

Thank you for your concern,
Dread Pirate Roberts

[Meridian]

Now that's pretty funny.

[CaptainK]

So the heating of the earth makes us crazy? Making us into pirates? Now that's funny!!

[Pura Vida]

The American Association for the Advancement of Science in their annual meeting in St Louis reported: "Humans are performing a high stakes climate experiment by burning fossil fuels that release heat trapping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere." Febuary 16, 2006.
Down here in Texas the cell phones keep getting smaller and the diesel pickups that haul them keep getting bigger.

[Richhh]

Dear Dread -
Your graph of pirates versus global temperature is very misleading. Actually, all the pirates of today have moved off the high seas and are now thriving and operating tax offices for governments; such governments considering their citizens solely as 'prey species' for taxation purposes. If one looks at Scandanavia and the other socialist governments of Europe where the citizens (prey species) are now paying upwards of 80-90% of their income to the tax authorities, then surely one can state with high confidence that piracy is alive and thriving .... the pirates just found a new venue in which to operate.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Hmmm,
You make an excelent point Richhh, though your argument reminds me of a monty python skit called office pirates. It is clear that the pirates have altered their strategies for obtaining money to a more business like venture, but as we all know pirates are also infamous for stealling boats. I am curious to see how many pirates have gone into financing positions with the soul intention of forclosing on peoples boats.
As for the direct correlation between pirates and the atmosphere. I beleive that there are two possible explanations. Either the pirates have no effect on the atmosphere from their indoor cubicles, or this whole thing is a conspiracy (as a certain political party would have us beleive) to stop people from cruising the world, move inland and accumulate more taxable junk that they don't need.
Those cleaver pirates, we are all but pawns in their feduciary game of chess.
Ofcourse I'm a friendly pirate so don't blame me.

Sligtly more paranoid than I was a moment ago,
Dread Pirate Roberts