Sun not guilty of warming earth - latest
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | 'No Sun link' to climate change
Scientists have produced further compelling evidence showing that modern-day climate change is not caused by changes in the Sun's activity.The research contradicts a favoured theory of climate "sceptics", that changes in cosmic rays coming to Earth determine cloudiness and temperature.
As far as I can tell from the BBC report (and a google for more details) the scientists have found there is "no significant link" (BBC) or "a very weak contribution" Terry to cloud cover from cosmic rays. This is pouring doubt on a proposed mechanism not on the actual results which is the global temperature that we are worried about. For more on the bigger picture see, for instance this as a starting point:
Evidence of a Significant Solar Imprint in Annual Globally Averaged Temperature Trends - Part 1 ｫ Watts Up With That?
Having failed to find one mechanism our hero returns to the comfy fold of another unproven mechanism with an evangelical zeal. He has failed to find the angels on the end of a pin so they must be on the ends of needles.
The BBC report ends:
According to Terry Sloan, the message coming from his research is simple.
"We tried to corroborate Svensmark's hypothesis, but we could not; as far as we can see, he has no reason to challenge the IPCC - the IPCC has got it right.
"So we had better carry on trying to cut carbon emissions."
Comments
I caught a report of this on SABC news this morning. They were actually a little more specific, saying that the Danish research group was actually trying to prove a link between solar magnetic radiation and earthly cloud cover (emphasis mine).
If this is correct then all that has been proven is that a very small subset of solar radiation doesn't affect a subset of global climate.
I'm no astrophysicist, but I seem to remember that the sun pumps out a lot more than just magnetic radiation.
Posted by: The Remittance Man | April 3, 2008 10:28 AM
20 years worth of data to disprove the effect of the sun on global climate change that happens over 100's of thousands of years. What a load of bollocks. In their drive to "prove" their theories with ever smaller amounts of data, the "scientists" just show themselves up to be unprofessional paid propagandists. Where will it stop? Will they use the weather conditions from a ten minute period from a week last Tuesday to predict climate change for the next millenia? God these people piss me off.
Posted by: wonkotsane | April 3, 2008 5:42 PM
They just don't give up, do they?
I suppose the more the earth cools, as it has been for the last couple of years (despite continuing increases in atmospheric C02), the more they will insist that it's all to do with global warming.
And sunspot cycle 24 still hasn't begun, just in case you were wondering.
Posted by: Andrew Duffin | April 3, 2008 8:38 PM