This article agrees there is global warming, but says the sun is the reason why. Could that point be true?

Question

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50701

The above article says the sun is causing the warming, not CO2. During the last Ice Age, CO2 levels were higher than they are now. Is the global warming problem a political rather than environmental problem?

Okay, you don't like Worldnetdaily, how about this one? And there are many more like it.

http://www.spacetoday.org/SolSys/Pluto/PlutoWarmWinter.html

And to Oohhbother - you mentioned CO2 being the culprit on earth. Two things. 1. You didn't address why ALL planets are getting warmer. 2. You ignored the statement that CO2 was at a higher level during the Ice Age.

Can somebody please address these two concerns of mine instead of blowing them off? I'm trying to learn here.

Answer 1

Oh no! You are going to get ripped for this. You don't dare go against the Blame America First crowd.

Look, it is easy. The Marscaps are melting, all other planets in the solar system are warmer. Is man on all those planets? No.

So what is causing planets in the SOLAR system to get hotter? It is called the solar system for a reason.

Answer 2

This theory has a some merit but has yet to be proven.

If someone where to speculate about what has caused all the ice ages and natural warming cycles in the history of the earth, the sun looks to be a likely candidate.

As the sun is a power source, like most unregulated power sources, it's not unreasonable to expect it to have cyclic fluctuations in intensity. The earth by comparison is a passive system with no significant power sources which could be expected to reach an thermal equilibrium when affected by a change in the heat transfer from the sun.

For as long as we've been gathering data on the sun's intensity, the change in intensity of the sun over that time hasn't been sufficient to account for the recent global warming. That's doesn't seem to rule out the possibility that the sun increased in intensity some time ago and due to heat lag, the earth warmed more recently.

Answer 3

No, scientists have concluded that the Sun is only responsible for at most 10% of the warming over the past 30 years, while human greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for 80-90%.

Addressing the Mars/Pluto warming first, here is a quote from the second article you linked:

"The team suggested the temperature increase may be something like a heat-lag they have experienced here on Earth. For example, even though our Sun is highest at noon on a hot day, the warmest temperatures come a few hours later."

In other words, Pluto is warming for completely different reasons than the Earth. So is Mars - namely dust storms darkening its surface:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/070404-mars-warming.html

On top of that, if our warming were due to the Sun, then EVERY planet in our solar system would be warming. Only about half are, and those planets are warming for different reasons. Your point #1 is incorrect. If I recall correctly, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Uranus are the planets which are not warming.

And on top of that, scientists have analysed the Sun directly and found that its output has actually decreased since 1980, during a period which saw rapidly accelerating global warming on Earth.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6290228.stm

Your second point is also wrong. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations were extremely low during the last ice age (20,000 years ago). In fact, they haven't been this high for over 650,000 years. See the plot in the link below for atmospheric CO2 data.

http://www.daviesand.com/Choices/Precautionary_Planning/New_Data/

Global warming is a scientific issue, not a political one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png

Answer 4

I hate to say it, but from a purely scientific viewpoint this is true. The sun provides just about all the energy to the solar system, including earth. Without energy the planets cannot increase in temperature. Hence the absolute cause of ALL global warming is the sun.

In a more realistic sense though this is rubbish. Temperatures increase because we take in more energy than we give off, which is due to atmospheric conditions such as the concentration of greenhouse gasses. Researchers at the MPS have shown that the Sun can be responsible for, at most, only a small part of the warming over the last 20-30 years. They took the measured and calculated variations in the solar brightness over the last 150 years and compared them to the temperature of the Earth. Although the changes in the two values tend to follow each other for roughly the first 120 years, the Earth’s temperature has risen dramatically in the last 30 years while the solar brightness has not appreciably increased in this time.

Answer 5

Nope!!!!!!!

New Analysis Counters Claims that Solar Activity is Linked to Global Warming

by James Randerson

It has been one of the central claims of those who challenge the idea that human activities are to blame for global warming. The planet’s climate has long fluctuated, say the climate sceptics, and current warming is just part of that natural cycle - the result of variation in the sun’s output and not carbon dioxide emissions.

But a new analysis of data on the sun’s output in the last 25 years of the 20th century has firmly put the notion to rest. The data shows that even though the sun’s activity has been decreasing since 1985, global temperatures have continued to rise at an accelerating rate.

The solar hypothesis was championed publicly in March by the controversial Channel 4 documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle.

The programme has been heavily criticised for distorting scientific data to fit the sceptic argument and Carl Wunsch, a professor of physical oceanography at MIT who featured in the programme, later said that he was “totally misled” by the film makers and that his comments were “completely misrepresented”.--- I'll let you go to the link to read the rest of the article...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/11/2449/

Answer 6

I often mistrust any "information" given from absolutely everyone who claims to "know the certainty" approximately international Warming yet no individual who's paying interest can deny the certainty that our international is warming up. it relatively is guy's events or it ought to be the solar or it relatively is area of a great cycle that we are only beginning off to renowned, yet inspite of the reason if reality learn that the warming trend is going to make a huge form of human beings much extra depressing than they're precise now. whether that's conceivable to stem the warming trend via lowering human contribution to the subject, shouldn't we try to achieve this? whether the solar is the main important contributor to the subject we could be waiting to off set that via regulating different aspects which comprise CO2 emissions and thereby combating or slowing down the warming trend to a p.c.. that's tolerable to quite a number of the international. shouldn't we positioned money into seeing if that's conceivable? Or could we proceed to bicker over which guidance source to have faith till that's in simple terms too previous by way of do something in any respect? the belief of bickering actual receives lots extra press than the belief unquestionably attempting to repair the subject. Denying international Warming considering which you do no longer believe the source of the guidance is very shortsighted and selfish as is the thought any single source is the all-understanding-king-of-materials. You reported the Tragedy of the Commons in one in each and every of your cutting-edge solutions as we communicate, and thinking how nicely-known you seem with that concept, that's ironic which you do no longer know that the information superhighway has grew to become "The Media" right into a sort of the commons. absolutely everyone can unload guidance into the media in the process the information superhighway, solid or undesirable. Esteemed scientists alongside radical bloggers-international Warming commentators alongside The Flat Earth Society, each and every with an opinion to particular, own delight or chilly no longer uncomplicated money to collect, and little or no punishment for doing injury. i seem out my window as we communicate and notice roses entering bloom and my backyard sprouting volunteer plant life leftover from final fall and that i do no longer choose absolutely everyone to tell me the climate is warmer than it replaced into even 5 years in the past.

Answer 7

I used to wonder the same thing 'till I happened upon some neat reading that put the thing in perspective from a slowpoke like myself's point of view.

It's rare to find anything at all that states bluntly the sun is to blame but I think personally that's because the point has been made and the wizard don't make housecalls anymore see?

Answer 8

Sorry vast majority of scientists agree, also popular science magazines spell it out. Plus the weather has been weird the last 10 years. Anyway, I've always wanted better insulated houses, and better public transport. I hate the way the world is filling up with fat people in noisy motors, going green would be great. No more big electric bills from my insulated solar house, no more SUV's filling up roads and parking spaces, no jet-skis ruining peaceful beaches, fewer noisy aircraft, Commuting banned, amazing 200 mph trains - brilliant I can't wait!!

Answer 9

No, Mars warming is due to the tilt of the planet.
Ours is from CO2.
Unless you want to label National geographic as a "liberal press".

Answer 10

I usually play the big liberal on Yahoo, but I have to agree with Rush on this. I think there is global warming but I don't think we as humans can do much about it (even if we were partially to blame). The earth goes through cycles of 'mini-ice ages' all the time. There was evidence of a mini-ice age in Europe during the Middle Ages. I don't think there's much we can do other than adapt to the changing environment.