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Politics : The Environmentalist Thread
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To: Brumar89 who wrote (27694)1/18/2010 3:03:10 PM
From: Maurice Winn1 Recommendation  Read Replies (1) of 36921
 
Global warming explained [and why there was a lot of ice 630 million years ago].

< The Sun's output is not entirely constant. Nor is the amount of sunspot activity. There was a period of very low sunspot activity in the latter half of the 17th century called the Maunder Minimum. It coincides with an abnormally cold period in northern Europe sometimes known as the Little Ice Age. Since the formation of the solar system the Sun's output has increased by about 40%.

The Sun is about 4.5 billion years old. Since its birth it has used up about half of the hydrogen in its core. It will continue to radiate "peacefully" for another 5 billion years or so (although its luminosity will approximately double in that time).>

Note the sun is running hotter than previously. That's an important clue on climate. 40% is a LOT more heat.

<Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that 630 million years ago the earth had a warm atmosphere full of carbon dioxide but was completely covered with ice, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The scientists studied limestone rocks and found evidence that large amounts of greenhouse gas coincided with a prolonged period of freezing temperatures.

Such glaciation could happen again if global warming is not curbed, the university's school of geography, earth and environmental sciences warned.

While pollution in the air is thought to trap the sun's heat in the atmosphere, causing the planet to heat up, this new research suggests it could also have the opposite effect reflecting rays back into space. >

Perhaps it doesn't occur to them that the sun's output increasing by 40% has quite an effect on Earth.

Perhaps it doesn't occur to them that all that limestone, oil, gas, tar, shale and coal were once alive and before that in the atmosphere making a very large greenhouse effect which perhaps kept Earth warm enough to get life going when Sol's output was low.

Since then, that carbon has been stripped from the ecosphere and buried in graves for umpty million years.

Mqurice
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