Scientists: Solar vortex could trigger ‘Little Ice Age’
By Macrina Cooper-White, Huffington Post
If you thought the polar vortex was bad, get a load of a new climate phenomenon that just might be coming our way.
Scientists say we could be headed for another “Little Ice Age,” given how eerily calm the sun has been in recent years.
First, a bit of background. The sun goes through cycles that last roughly 11 years, marked by the ebb and flow of sunspots on its surface. At peak sunspot activity, the so-called solar maximum, the sun sports lots of sunspots and is steadily unleashing solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Since our current solar cycle, Number 24, kicked off in 2008, the number of sunspots observed has been half of what heliophysicists expected.
Global Warming! Global Cooling! Little Ice Age! Let’s admit the Earth has been and still is in constant flux.
Wouldn’t that just be a peach! Global Cooling. How would the Warmistas explain that human activity is affecting the sun?
Liberal heads would explode.
of course the reading comprehension failures and plagiarists jump on this article like it somehow vindicates their climate change denial-the conclusion of the scientists was that if-a big if-this phenomena occured it would only forestall the inevitable warming for several decades-lets admit that your full of bs-per usual
..and of course, ‘Teatotal’ knows.
observer-what I ‘know’ is that the articles conclusion was that scientific models still predict dangerous warming in the future regardless of this potential phenomena-I also ‘know’ that I am not stupid enough to embrace the opinions of rush limbo and other idiot radio blowhards over 98% of real climatologists
What I really know for sure is that you have an opinion, and a right to your opinion, just like everyone else. The fact that you choose to insult those that might disagree with your ‘opinion’ is what I find disagreeable.
Hey TAHOEAD! The debate about the Earth warming is over. Globally, 2013 is in the top 10 of known recorded heat. Glaciers are dying globally. Greenland is loosing 50 Cubic Miles of fresh water ice per year. Oceans are rising. The mean average global increase in temperature over the past 50 years is 1.4 degrees (f). Saying that the Earth’s temperature globally is in flux is just not factual for this period of time.
There should be no debate just recognition that climate keeps changing. Go study Paleoclimatology to see that the things you reference have happened before and will happen again. It’s the flow of a physical property in space with time.
If Global Warming is such a bad thing, why is Al Gore globetrotting on his private jet?
Okay, it’s easy to get it that scientific folks aren’t very good at communicating with those of us among the un-washed.
But anyone who stayed awake through some of their high school physics understands that heat = energy. And, for the really dumb, absence of heat = absence of energy.
Our weather is crazy. Huge cold and monster storms in some precincts. Warm winter days to the point that we’re watering our lawns and trees mid-winter in others.
Nevertheless, overall, the world is warmer. And, in what some of the unwashed see as supportive of their bar stool observations, the weather in a large part of the globe is unpredictable, cold and occasionally violent.
Blather all you want; what scientists, somewhat naively have referred to as “global warming” is, in fact, climate change identical to what’s been predicted for decades by the real scientists who’ve been tracking what we’re doing to our environment. We have goosed atmospheric energy to the point that it’s trying to destroy us. Tough as we might imagine we are, it’s definitely causing changes.
It’s very likely too late to change much during our lifetimes. But we all (well, that may be a stretch) have children, and perhaps grand-children and if we don’t care what kind of a world we’re leaving for them, and their grand-children, then we are a truly despicable generation.
“If Global Warming is such a bad thing, why is Al Gore globetrotting on his private jet?”
Can’t even try to take on the science, can you?
Just so everyone knows, ‘global cooling’ was promoted and sensationalized by the media, not the scientists.
And now for the laziest ‘argument’ from the deniers:
‘ the Earth has been and still is in constant flux.’
Lazy, and dumb.
ANY ONE WHO THINKS WE ARE ABLE TO CONTROL THE WEATHER IS DELUSIONAL
Regardless of which “side” one is on, doesn’t it make sense to pollute as little as possible? Doesn’t it make sense to not waste resources? Seems like a pretty good first step to me. We can always improve our behavior.
HEY TAHOEAD! So that’s it? Just give up because over the past 5 Billion Years the Earth has been hot and cold? Make no plans to reduce CO2 emissions Planet wide? Make no plans to desalinate Ocean water? Make no plans to move population center away from encroaching Oceans? Very weak AD.
HEY DEWITT! It’s not “weather” that we have control over but CO2 Gas that we have control over. Or, should I say Oil/Coal Corporations have control over.
OK. Listen up! The “98% of climate scientists” line is the sign of the totally ignorant. Facts, not consensus, is what science is based upon. Fact: Water vapor is a far more potent agent of greenhouse warming than CO2. Fact: Global temperature has been on a downward trend since about the year 2000. Fact: The political issue of ‘Climate Change’ is about control of our economy and lives, not ‘Saving The Planet’. Fact: Each human on this planet produces 10 to 20 TONS of trash EACH YEAR. If you wish to reduce total pollution, you MUST reduce the total population. Now, just how can we achieve that goal?
Hey ED. Where did you get your “facts?” Most of the warmest years and decades on record have occurred in the past 15 – 30 years. glaciers are going extinct world wide, Greenland is loosing an average of 50-60 Cubic Miles of fresh water to melt annually; in 2012 it was over 120 Cubic Miles lost. Since the 1880s, the Oceans have rising 8 inches. If anyone is political with Global Warming, it is the Oil/Coal industries since they would be loosing sales when humans turn to non-fossil fuels.
Since no one ever offers a concrete plan to deal with what is supposed to be such a crisis, and I’m not just talking about bloggers here, I’m including all the National Media Stories on this, it’s clearly just an excuse to whine and grab at more govt. funding!
If 97 or 98% of such genuises are so sure of this Climate Change scenario, then let them use their ‘expertise’ to come up with a viable, enforceable (you know, that would guarantee China & India would go along) solution!
Parker. Actual Scientist, Physicists, Mathematicians, Engineers and Climatologists are working on solutions.
Most of the solutions require conservation of fossil fuels burning and the lowering of CO2 gas via alternative energy sources.
Simple solutions include: increased vehicle MPG, increased energy efficient lighting/appliances, light colored roofs to reflect versus absorb radiant heat. Adding reflective compounds to asphalt to reflect heat.
Some of the more “ambitious” solutions I have come across include: large mirrors placed in orbit to reflect solar heat, reflective additives placed in the Arctic Ocean to reflect heat and a very large white hologram projection system from fixed satellite(s) over the poles to attempt to reflect light.
Great! Seriously! Yet I look forward to all or one of these solutions not just being theorized, but formally proposed! And in any proposal, where applicable, I also look forward to knowing what the enforcement mechanism will be!
Parker. CAFE standards have already been raised to about 53mpg by 2025. Many people are in the process of replacing old light bulbs and appliances with new ones. Many regions and companies have embraced light colored roofing.