Re: [Phys-l] Climate skeptic convinced by data. Was: Re: Mike Mann _The hockey

["Anthony Lapinski" <Anthony_Lapinski@pds.org>]

Yes, we can't do anything about the Sun and its energy output. It affects
the Earth much more than anything humans have ever done or will ever do.

The timeline for global warming does correspond with the industrial age,
but there is no direct proof of causality. We'd have to wait hundreds of
years for more data. We do have core samples and tree rings which
correlate with sunspot numbers and show amounts of CO2, etc.

I brought in politics because this really has become a political debate
when governments put regulations on air quality, automobiles, etc. But
since the main cause of global warming is the Sun, then these laws are
really meaningless.


Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu> writes:
> On Feb 18, 2012, at 10:10 AM, Anthony Lapinski wrote:
>
> > The main driver of climate on Earth -- over and above any human-made
> carbon emissions -- is the Sun. The evidence is clear. By analyzing ice
> core samples and tree rings, scientists know that the Earth has gone
> through warming and cooling trends in the past. It's been in a warming
> trend for the past 150 years or so.
>
> All VERY clearly true.
>
> > There's really nothing that can be done about this.
>
> Huh? What? Assuming that by "this" you mean the warming trend you
> mentioned above and that coincides with the industrial age, what is the
> evidence in support of for this stupendously general statement?
>
> > Of course, many politicians (and people, too) are scientifically
> illiterate and can only deal with problems which are "human-made."
>
> ... and what is THAT supposed to mean in the context of the above? 
>
> I really don't get it.
>
> John Mallinckrodt
> Cal Poly Pomona
>
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