The fact this guy is a Astronomer only looking at CME eruptions probobally explains the article, lack of sunspots generally means lack of coronal Activity including Surface activity.
A Solar phycisist would have been slightly more convincing talking about the Sun's interior workings, in which case the mere concept would be laughable (and he'd probobally been watching too much of that Sunshine movie.)

anyone here see when I was ridiculed for blasting those in summer who was talking about solar flares going crazy, the sun is getting hotter, something is happening with the sun and so on and so forth and I made the prediction that come the winter people will be talking about how quiet the sun is, how its too cold and basically the complete opposite of what they was saying at the time.
Well, I am once again going to stick my neck on the line and predict that come the summer (or leading up to it) of 2010 there will be once again "omg the sun is flaring up out of control" "sun at its warmest in 3417 years" and other such rubbish.
It's getting too predictable now, ladbrokes (betting shop) wont entertain me because of how typical and easily predictable the theories are getting.
He who laughs last and all that.