The only correlation with global warming is solar activity and our climb out of the unusually cool period known as the Little Ice age.
microtech.com.au
and co2science.org
It was actually warmer during the medieval maximum, and the jury is out as to where the oceans are really rising or falling:
news.bbc.co.uk;
Thanks for the links provided.
First, let me say that when I first heard about La Niña and El Niño in the mid 80's, the scientists said that they were climatic events that were prompted by shifts in the ocean currents and occurred roughly every twenty years. That had been the experienced frequency up til then.
During the late 80's and the 90's, however, these climatic events began to occur with much greater frequency on the West coast, almost alternating from one year to the next. Now this latest paper reports that they occur irregularly every 2 to 7 years [not twenty], and are motivated by sunspots. My question then becomes why the change in frequency of these events if its sunspots that are the cause? After all, we have always had sunspots. Yes, I know that its more complicated then just having sunspots....they have to be at juxtaposed just so to activities here on earth. But something just doesn't add up. And to show the seriousness of this issue, El Niña once again has hit the West coast and is helping to contribute to the energy problem in CA. This is the 3rd time in 10 years. Again I ask, why is everything lining up so that these events are occurring more frequently?
As for CO2, its a part of the natural cycle of things. Up until the 20th century, the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere were fairly constant. That changed in the 20th century and in some places the level of CO2 has increased dramatically. We have learned that whenever we, Man, change the environment there are unexpected and usually, not beneficial repercussions. Why should this be any different?
Re the explorer who allegedly left a mark on some rocks indicating the mean sea level in 1841. Are we to believe his mark, or our own eyes when we see glaciers in retreat at the two poles, when we view the hole in the ice that has opened up at the top of the arctic circle or when we watch islanders put up storm walls in a desperate and usually futile attempt to reduce the loss of their island's land mass to the rising seas?
Maybe its me, but it would appear these current events make the explorer's mark an anomaly.
ted |
