Tuesday was a great day for polar bears, but a not-so-hot day (literally) for the scaremongers and political opportunists who've been pushing "man caused climate change." Because Tuesday was when the American Astronomical Society announced that the sun appears to be going into a quiet period unlike any we've seen in hundreds of years...and that the result may be a new ice age.
Scientists say the key is looking at sunspot activity, as there is a correlation between fewer sunspots and lower temperatures here on Earth. And way back in 1645...before industrialization, Humvees, Al Gore, "carbon credits," or the EPA...a lack of sunspots occurred at the same time as the "Little Ice Age" - a devastatingly harsh period of freezing temperatures that lasted 70 years.
Put another way, comparing Man's impact on the climate to that of the sun is like comparing a seagull fart to a Category Five Hurricane. Our climate changes and cycles, as it always has...because the sun changes and cycles, as it always has.
The records of history and climatology are perfectly clear. But politicians, opportunists and pseudo-scientists continue to spout nonsense...as they always have.
The reason Barack Obama was late for the 4th of July parade.
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28 comments:
So, does Earth have "a fever" like Big Al says or is it going into hypothermia? Make up your minds, dammit! I need to know who to mock mercilessly and I'm not good at multitasking.
Ah, but, you see, the reduced sun spot activity is caused by, and a symptom of, AGW ... and it's Bush's fault!
Beware, I got a worm or a virus when I visited that news article that you linked to. Please Stilton, remove that link!
@Anon - I had no problems when I went to the link. Just to be sure, I just did a scan with my AV software and MalwareBytes. Could you be a bit more specific on the worm or virus you got?
We should send Obama on a one way trip to the Sun to investigate.
@Angry Hoosier Dad- By all means mock all of the opinions. There's already a backlash of opinion coming out saying that the solar experts must be wrong...and they might well be. They thought we were heading into a period of super-activity, but now think we're heading into a period of super-inactivity. So despite the fact that the sun cycles in reasonably predictably ways, it's also highly un-predictable...and its tiniest fluctuations will affect our climate far more than we will. Which doesn't mean we shouldn't at least be conscious of trying to clean up our emissions and being energy conscious...it just means we shouldn't be idiots about it.
@Anonymous (three above)- Like Chuck, I couldn't find any problems with the site, but just to be sure I've now redirected the link to a different article.
Seriously? I mean, okay, it was Global warming when we were having blizzard after blizzard this winter, and now its an "Ice Age" when we had 100 degree temps in late MAY?!?!
These people have WAY WAY WAY too much time on their hands, and much too high of a paycheck! GRACIOUS!!!! The next thing you know, the Obamacare Preferred Health provider will be some sort of Voodoo Witch Doctor, for all this "sun reading" these people are doing lately.
It's too late. Soon it could be 32 degrees in DC come July 4th, but they'll still cling on to "climate change" (formerly known as "global warming") because the global statist political establishment with their leftist environmentalist allies and the and bought-and-paid-for scientific establishment in academia have gone "all in" on the agenda. To back out now, after the billions of tax dollars wasted on fraudulent or misinterpreted research and the trillions in collateral damage to the economy would be a tacit admission that either they were wrong, ignorant or duped by the "science", or that it was all a fraud to justify the socialist-totalitarian society that they wish to impose upon the remaining free peoples. Either option is unacceptable to all responsible, since at best their entire careers and futures suddenly become worthless, and at worst their heads would be placed on pikes on the National Mall during that July 4th snowfest.
So it just doesn't matter. As Al Gore says, "The science is settled". The sun could suddenly either explode or go black tomorrow, and we'll still be stuck with an anthropogenic climate agenda where the statist elites will continue to jet about the globe in their private jets while accusing you of destroying the planet with your SUV and big-screen TV.
Clearly, your BIG SUVS and all the REFLECTIVE SUNSCREEN you are wearing these days have POLLUTED THE SUN'S CORONA with... haha... EXCESS UV RADIATION, resulting in this! Ha-ha! See? They were right all along! They just had the CELESTIAL BODY wrong! Ahahah! Don't you see? It is anthropogenic climate change after all! Ha! Aha! AhahahahahahahahaHAAAAA!
Hey! I don't LIKE that jacket! STOP PULLING THE STRAPS SO TIGHT!!! No! NO! NOT THE ROOM AGAIN. AIIIIieeeeeeeeeee.....
What?! How could something as far away and tiny as the sun have any effect whatsoever on our huge planet? I refuse to believe that something that small and distant could counteract really big, important things like "not driving a Prius" or "Using incandescent light bulbs" or "putting black shingles on your house." Who the hell is in charge of this whole "sun" thing anyway? I think they are making the whole thing up. Al Gore has done his research and has proved without a doubt the the whole world might definitely almost get warmer someday in the future, and dammit! It's our fault. Not stupid sun thing is going to change MY mind.
@Readers- I agree that the Obama administration needs to do further research into this whole "sun" thing, and suggest that they send a team there to investigate. And of course, to keep them from burning up, they need to schedule their landing at night.
Yes, we know: "Freeze or fry, the cause is always industrial capitalism and the solution is always international socialism." I can't remember who said that, but it's the driving idea behind "climate change". Someone ALWAYS thinks he knows how everyone else should live.
As for the curlicue light bulbs, I use them because they don't dump as much heat on ME as do incandescent bulbs. That's all I care about!
@JustaJeepGuy- I don't really have a problem with the new bulbs either, since they cost less to use and generate less heat. Hopefully the longer they're for sale, the cheaper they'll get...and better quality light they'll be able to produce. Of course, if the old incandescent bulbs weren't being outlawed, those improvements would happen sooner because of the need to compete.
*chuckle*...hey, that global warming thing wasn't quite as ominous as it was made to sound...kinda like those *chuckle* 'shovel ready' jobs weren't quite so 'shovel ready' as we thought! Oh, man, we blew a few billion on that one *chuckle*...guess the joke's on us, huh?
@SJ, sorry but I have to disagree with you about the curly bulbs. They are dimmer, more expensive, and last a shorter period than allegedly equivalent incandescents. Also they contain mercury which is not exactly eco-friendly. So I am hoarding incandescents and hoping we'll get a government with a little common sense to repeal that absurd law before I run out.
And, I'd like to say that I was as shocked as you no doubt are to discover that I disagreed with you and the jeep guy. I'm heading for therapy now and filing a disability claim.
I also have a problem with the new bulbs. Beyond the fact they're being shoved down our throats, they're Not as bright, WAY more expensive, don't last as long, not available in higher wattages, made overseas, and destroying the environment around the mercury mines in China. Not to mention the fact if you break one in your house, the mercury goes into your carpet, etc. so your toddler can crawl all over it, your dog can lay in it, or you can call a friggin' hazmat team to come in and clean up the toxic spill. All for WHAT? a false agenda designed to line the pockets of Al Gore and friends. Nah, F&%K them. they can put the curley bulbs in the same orifice their heads are in.
While I'm at it, I want to come out in favor of a mini-ice-age. Here in Houston it's hotter than blazes and we haven't had any rain to speak of since Hurricane Ike, which doesn't count because the wind is so loud and scary. I know some of the rest of you have had some bad rain this year, but a little melting glacier in the front yard would be a welcome relief for me.
@Doktor Paulie & Anonymous- You both make excellent points, and I'm in almost total agreement with you. Maybe I should have said "with all of the other crap going on in the world, I barely have enough strength left to care about those flickering, expensive, poisonous lightbulbs." And just so you know, like every other prudent American I'm buying all the incandescents that I can lay my hands on...to use until such time as the new bulbs CAN be made, brighter, cheaper, and safer (I want to say that there was a story recently about a curlicue bulb that had finally achieved the Holy Grail of giving off the equivalent light of a 100-watt bulb. It cost $50. And they call this progress...?)
@Doktor Paulie- That "Little Ice Age" would be welcome here right now, too. As I write this, it's 101-degrees with a heat index of 105. A nearby glacier would be just the thing for chipping off a bit of ice for my evening bourbon and water. mmMMmmm....!
@SJ, despite the contrary evidence of liberals and hurricanes, whiskey is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
I've never accepted the "curlicue" bulbs; after working furiously for decades to get all forms of mercury out of our homes, all of a sudden the government demands we buy these, nearly all of which will end up in landfills? Amazing!
And all this insanity over CO2!
Personally, I prefer LEDs. Much more expensive, but much more efficient, and most will outlive me.
@John the Econ - And as time progresses, the LED costs will come down. I, too, like them.
I have a lot of CFLs in use (and no, they don't last as long as advertised) but am not stockpiling incandescent (I've no love for them, either). Both fail in the environment-friendly department (as do electric cars that get their electricity from ... Unicorn Farts?).
If you get the right CFL rating, they can actually be brighter than incandescent, but they take a full minute to warm up to that brightness.
And yeah, the mercury is troublesome. There is no disposal/recycling program for them, so just like flashlight batteries, people just throw them in the trash without a second thought.
Doktor Paulie - the phrase is BEER is proof that there IS a god, he loves us, and wants us to be happy. Attributed popularly (and probably falsely) to Ben Franklin.
Whiskey is just concentrated beer. (True!)
Curly bulbs tend to work well in situations where they are turned on and left on all day (or evening), no so much the quick on / off of like stairways, closets, etc...
Anyone have any experience w/ LED bulbs? they ought to be long life / instant on AND cheap..
Here's another link to the sunspot story - this guy says that it does not matter that the sun may be cooling, we're gonna fry anyway...
No sunspots? no big deal..
Moneyquote.. - ""In my opinion, it is a huge leap ... to an abrupt global cooling, since the connections between solar activity and climate are still very poorly understood," he said in an e-mail."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110615/sc_nm/us_climate_sunspots
Having looked into it recently, I was shocked to find that for the past 500,000 years, there have been 4 cycles of glaciation, broken up by 'temperate' climate, like we now enjoy. This should not be news to anyone. The 'news' is that the glaciations last ~100,000 years, and the 'normal' periods approx 15 - 20,000 - so, what we, in our limited view, think of as 'normal' historically exists less than 20% of the time. That's right, glaciation is the NORMAL state of things!
Now, we're all familiar w/ the concept of 'runaway greenhouse' - look at Venus - surface temp of approx 860 degrees F... ergo the name 'greenhouse gasses'.
What NO one talks about is when the glaciers lock up all the water, and cloud cover drops allowing light / heat to be reflected / radiated back out into space, causing massive cooling, a "runaway icehouse" effect. The catastrophic terminal of THAT is total glacial coverage - "snowball earth." Paleo-climatologists say it has happened at least once. In 6 billion years. Not gonna lose sleep over it. But, the point is, the climate *is* changing, as it always has been, and it seems unlikely there is anything we can do about it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304142228.htm
Which, as others have pointed out, is not a good reason NOT to reduce, re-use, recycle, find other sources of energy - but I hardly think we need to toxify our homes, environment or wreck the economy to attempt to prevent something that is probably not happening, and we likely have NO influence over in the first place..
Hi all. I'm the "anonymous" that got the worm from the old link that Stilton removed. As I was reading the article a pop-up box appeared saying something like "your computer is infected. Scan for viruses?" and when I tried to exit the dialog box, it would not close. Having previous experience with this bug, I quickly hit ctrl/alt/delete and forced it to shut down. The last time I let that worm get into my computer, it took three different programs to get rid of it: an anti-malware, and antivirus, and an anti-spyware program. I thought my computer was a goner! I am not sure how these worms get in, but I think they are hiding in ads on news and comic sites, and maybe anywhere ads show up. Can anyone shed more light on this subject?
btw, While global warming is an inexact science, this computer virus is a real nuisance!
Wine!
http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/03/24/quotes-uncovered-beer-or-wine-as-proof/
@John F.,
Having read John Lott's "Freedomnomics", I have a hard time believing anything from "freakonomics".
@John F.,
All right, I'll give the "freaks" the Franklin quote...
Good stuff/linked at RR:
Reaganite's Sunday Funnies
Enjoy your weekend-
@Reaganite Republican- Thanks for the links! Always very much appreciated!
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