Are Sunspots Causing Global Warming/Cooling?

I was reading an article titled "Understanding Our Home Fire The Study of the Sun" in AISES' (American Indian Science and Engineering Society, of which i am a member) magazine, Wind of Change, and it began talking about sunspots.

it said that in 1460-1550, and again in 1645-1715, sunspots disappeared, and a miniature ice age took place. it did not say anything about an increase, other than that the sunspot cycle went from max to max in eleven years, from 1979-1989.

so, are sunspots the cause for climate change?

reply to post by LocoHombre


Going by current global trends of a supposed temperature increase, one would say no, since the sun has been pretty much asleep for the last 11-12 years.

But, and I'm a bit hazy on this, so hopefully someone can add further, because the sun hasn't been active recently, the magnetosphere isn't as strong as it usually is which will let in more cosmic rays from outer space.

Is this somehow effecting the temperatures here on earth? I wouldn't know.

But I guess a lack of sunspots could have an indirect effect on global temps.



[edit on 26/12/09 by Chadwickus]

This clip makes sense to me, although i'm no expert -

3 min 40 sec and it gets very interesting!!



g.

[edit on 26-12-2009 by grantbeed]

reply to post by LocoHombre


Yes, the sun effects our planet more the C02 emissions.
The Earth has been warming and cooling for millions of years.
Our sun is a major factor. Al Gore and his minions are conveniently
ignoring the sun. We are going to have another ice age in about
1,500 years. Al Gore will fail to slow it down or stop it.

I believe the sun, The earths magnetic field the shifting of the magnetic pole and the magnetic field decreasing, all have a major effect on global warming and cooling.
www.appinsys.com...
In the last 40 years the sunspot activity has matched global warming hockey stick.
news.bbc.co.uk...


I also believe Methane, Ozone, Fluorocarbons, and water vapor also has a larger effect.

I do NOT believe CO2 is the only or greatest cause.
CO2 is a minor cause along with the above.
Controlling CO2 will do little to nothing to stop global warming/climate change.
but controlling CO2 does give the environmentalist what THEY want.
to industrialize and control the world.

Methane

Methane is emitted from livestock, agricultural processes, and organic waste decay. It is also created during the production and transport of coal, natural gas and oil. The IPCC report gives methane a GWP of 62 over a 20 year period and its average atmospheric lifetime is 12 years. From these figures it can be seen that methane is a powerful greenhouse gas,

Ozone

The ozone layer not only protects the earth from ultraviolet rays, it also acts as a natural greenhouse gas, but a study by the European Union entitled “Tropospheric Ozone in EU - The consolidated report” found that the production of ground level ozone has risen dramatically since the industrial revolution. This ozone is formed by the action of sunlight on hydrocarbons and nitrous oxide from the burning of fossil fuels. This ozone eventually finds its way to the troposphere and helps increase the greenhouse effect.


Fluorocarbons

Although the ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) were phased out under the “Montreal Protocol” the newer hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) and perfluorocarbon (PFC), brought in to replace them, are some of the strongest greenhouse gases known to man. In the IPCC report they have GWPs ranging from 300 to 10,000 with lifetimes of hundreds of years. These powerful greenhouse gases are used extensively in refrigeration and air conditioning and can enter the atmosphere when the units are damaged or being decommissioned.


[edit on 26-12-2009 by ANNED]