Put The Surf Board In The Attic And Break Out The Longjohns

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Yesterday Power Line reported that scientists at the National Solar Observatory have released a report stating that the sun may be entering a period of decreased solar activity, lowering the temperature on earth.  On Tuesday, Anthony Watts at WattsUpWithThat posted an article on the three trends that point to a decrease in solar activity.

Mr. Watts reports:

"A missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles say that our Sun is heading for a rest period even as it is acting up for the first time in years, according to scientists at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).

"As the current sunspot cycle, Cycle 24, begins to ramp up toward maximum, independent studies of the solar interior, visible surface, and the corona indicate that the next 11-year solar sunspot cycle, Cycle 25, will be greatly reduced or may not happen at all.

"The results were announced at the annual meeting of the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, which is being held this week at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces:  http://astronomy.nmsu.edu/SPD2011/"

The bottom line here is that many scientists are predicting a period of global cooling. 

The article at Power Line reports:

"Early records of sunspots indicate that the Sun went through a period of inactivity in the late 17th century. Very few sunspots were seen on the Sun from about 1645 to 1715. Although the observations were not as extensive as in later years, the Sun was in fact well observed during this time and this lack of sunspots is well documented. This period of solar inactivity also corresponds to a climatic period called the "Little Ice Age" when rivers that are normally ice-free froze and snow fields remained year-round at lower altitudes. There is evidence that the Sun has had similar periods of inactivity in the more distant past.
"During the Maunder Minimum and for periods either side of it, many European rivers which are ice-free today - including the Thames - routinely froze over, allowing ice skating and even for armies to march across them in some cases."

I am not a scientist.  All this means to me is that there is not a consensus on what the earth's future climate will be or exactly what will be responsible for any changes in climate we see in the next fifty years.  Therefore, I would suggest that we move slowly in taking any actions to change or impact the things that might impact the earth's climate until we truly know what direction the climate is heading.  We don't always correctly forecast the weather for next week.  What makes us think we can predict weather thirty years from now?

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This page contains a single entry by Granny G published on June 16, 2011 12:50 AM.

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