Study acquits sun of climate change, blames humans

[WhiteTara]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2430265

Sep 13, 2006 — By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) - The sun's energy output has barely varied over the past 1,000 years, raising chances that global warming has human rather than celestial causes, a study showed on Wednesday.

Researchers from Germany, Switzerland and the United States found that the sun's brightness varied by only 0.07 percent over 11-year sunspot cycles, far too little to account for the rise in temperatures since the Industrial Revolution.

"Our results imply that over the past century climate change due to human influences must far outweigh the effects of changes in the sun's brightness," said Tom Wigley of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Most experts say emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars, are the main cause of a 0.6 Celsius (1.1 F) rise in temperatures over the past century.

[truthisfreedom]

1. they'll say the study's flawed, and sell more oil.

we're on our own.

[jwirr]

5. Yeah, they will but we just need to remind them that it has to be

man that is to blame because to blame nature would be to blame the creator. Hoisted on their own petard.

[Anakin Skywalker]

2. Scientific Studies Have Never Meant Anything

to the idiots who are in charge of this world, and they happen to be fundies.

[Canuckistanian]

3. Rush Limpbutt's No. 1 excuse is gone

That's his first (and only) "rebuttal" to proof that the globe is, indeed, warming.

[seasat]

4. You mean the idiots have given up on volcanoes?

I can always tell a Rushie yes-boy because they immediately blame volcanoes for green house gas emissions. Never mind the fact that all the volcanoes in world only put about 0.1% of the annual greenhouse gases that we do. It's an easy for them to understand and it doesn't require them to think.

I have regularly measured solar irradiance using a Licor 1800 and other spectral irradiance sensors. I compare it to a numerical model that uses a solar constant from 1980. On a clear day, the measurement and model are almost exactly the same. If there is any variation, it's been in the noise level for both my instruments and the model.

[Canuckistanian]

6. Sunspots are another bugaboo

They (wingnuts) sometimes say that sunspot activity is the reason for increased solar heat radiation.

I always scream at the radio that sunspots are actually cooler areas on the sun.

BTW, how is it that you regularly use a Spectroradiometer? Are you an astronomer or working as an Earth scientist?

[seasat]

9. I'm an optical oceanographer.

I ground truth satellite inversion models for determining various constituents in the ocean (chlorophyll, dissolved organics, depth, ect). I use a Licor 1800 to get above surface downwelling solar irradiance and use a custom built 512 channel radiometer with a cosine collector for below surface irradiance.

Sunspot activity is probably one of the most abused measurements. They blame sunspots for everything. That said, there is some pretty good evidence that increases in sunspot activity correlate with increased solar irradiance. If you look at some of the satellite measurements of solar irradiance versus solar activity you find that it follows the 11 year solar cycle pretty closely. The increases are extremely small and can only be observed in total solar irradiance above the atmosphere. Most spectral instruments can't detect that level of change. However, if you compare the 11 year cycle to the temperature anomaly, you find that there is no real correlation. We are near the lower range of the cycle and we're setting global temperature records. You are right, no one except the scientifically ignorant or paid shills seem to make that claim anymore.

[TrueStory]

7. NASA: 0.6 Celsius in last 30 years and 0.8 Celsius in last century

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/

Record warmth in 2005 is notable, because global temperature has not received any boost from a tropical El Niño this year. The prior record year, 1998, on the contrary, was lifted 0.2°C above the trend line by the strongest El Niño of the past century.

Global warming is now 0.6°C in the past three decades and 0.8°C in the past century. It is no longer correct to say that "most global warming occurred before 1940". More specifically, there was slow global warming, with large fluctuations, over the century up to 1975 and subsequent rapid warming of almost 0.2°C per decade.

[Supersedeas]

8. Hell, it is just science...Rove can make this go away

[Lindacooks]

10. I thought this was an Onion article at first!

Who thinks of this stuff? The groups trying to pass the buck from human behavior are really reaching.

[eppur_se_muova]

11. An attorney for the Sun expressed relief at the outcome.

"Right now, my client just wants to put this behind him and get on with his life." In a more candid moment, the Sun, pressed by um, the press, pleaded "Where do I go to get my good reputation back?". A spokesperson for humans confirmed the report's conclusions: "Sure, we did it. What are you gonna do about it?".