Well, here I go again. Doubting that the world will end up looking like Venus. But at least I'm not alone as - More than 31,000 scientists have signed a petition denying that man is responsible for global warming.Wow. 9000 of the 31,000 have PhD's, even.
"There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of ... greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the forseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments."
Meanwhile, if you think that this will stop the religion of environmentalists, even I know better than that. The environmental 'green' movement will be championed by WalMart and McDonald's as a way to limit their energy usage - not to save the earth - but to save their profit margin by NOT spending money on extra energy cost, and therefore generating more money for their stockholders.
Don't be totally surprised to see McDonald's turning a profit from used fry oil in the not too distant future.
UPDATE: There are no sunspots - We're DOOMED!Here's why (and I might have mentioned this before)
Ice Age, dude. Ice Age.
Here's the story on that one (link). Now you have to decide - death by Ice, or death by fire?
That's always one that has bugged me since I was a little kid.
Freezing to death, or burning?
Freezing seems slower, and more frustrating. But burning seems much, much more painful.
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Here's what NASA says:
Many researchers believe the steady rise in sunspots and faculae since the late seventeenth century may be responsible for as much as half of the 0.6 degrees of global warming over the last 110 years (IPCC, 2001). Since pre-industrial times, it's thought that the Sun has given rise to a global heating similar to that caused by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If the past is any indication of things to come, solar cycles may play a role in future global warming.
Though complex feedbacks between different components of the climate system (clouds, ice, oceans, etc.) make detailed climate predictions difficult and highly uncertain, most scientists predict the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels will continue to block a larger and larger percentage of outgoing thermal radiation emanating from the Earth.
Sunspot cycles may sway global warming either way. If long-term cycles in solar radiation reverse course and the Sun's spots and faculae begin to disappear over the next century, then the Sun could partially counter global warming. On the other hand, if the average number of spots rises, the Sun could serve to warm our planet even more. As to the shorter-term 11-year cycles, they may dampen or amplify the affects of global warming on a year-to-year basis.
The Sun's affect on global warming can mostly be attributed to variations in the near-infrared and visible wavelengths of solar radiation. As previously stated, these types of radiation are absorbed by the lower atmosphere, the oceans, and the land. UV radiation, on the other hand, interacts strongly with the ozone layer and the upper atmosphere. Though UV solar radiation makes up a much smaller portion of the TSI than infrared or visible radiation, UV solar radiation tends to change much more dramatically over the course of solar cycles.
The impacts of undulating UV solar radiation may be substantial. Since UV radiation creates ozone in the stratosphere, the oscillation in UV levels can affect the size of the ozone hole. Absorption of UV radiation by the ozone also heats up the stratosphere. Many scientists suspect that changes in stratospheric temperatures may alter weather patterns in the troposphere. (new window)
IOW, if the sun continues cooling off, you'd better buy some parkas and double-up on the insulation.
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