Well, here's a Russian scientist who suggests otherwise:
In 2005 data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide "ice caps" near Mars's south pole had been diminishing for three summers in a row.
Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, says the Mars data is evidence that the current global warming on Earth is being caused by changes in the sun.
"The long-term increase in solar irradiance is heating both Earth and Mars," he said.
But what's the sun got to do with global warming which is human-caused? HUMAN! Do you hear me?!?!?!
The story continues by pointing out
Abdussamatov's work, however, has not been well received by other climate scientists.Perhaps the biggest stumbling block in Abdussamatov's theory is his dismissal of the greenhouse effect, in which atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide help keep heat trapped near the planet's surface.
He claims that carbon dioxide has only a small influence on Earth's climate and virtually no influence on Mars.
But "without the greenhouse effect there would be very little, if any, life on Earth, since our planet would pretty much be a big ball of ice," said Evan, of the University of Wisconsin.
Most scientists now fear that the massive amount of carbon dioxide humans are pumping into the air will lead to a catastrophic rise in Earth's temperatures, dramatically raising sea levels as glaciers melt and leading to extreme weather worldwide.
Abdussamatov remains contrarian, however, suggesting that the sun holds something quite different in store.
"The solar irradiance began to drop in the 1990s, and a minimum will be reached by approximately 2040," Abdussamatov said. "It will cause a steep cooling of the climate on Earth in 15 to 20 years."
Sounds like that'll hit sooner than global warming, anyway. The recent TV ad produced by fightglobalwarming.com says that irreversible global warming changes will have occured in 30 years. So how about waiting 20 years to see if Abdussamatov's theory is correct?
Speaking of fightglobalwarming.com, they've got email updates with tips on how you can fight global warming. From the site:
Sign up for updates and tips on how you can help. We'll get you started with our Low Carbon Diet Guide.
Some things are beyond parody.
2 comments:
As the article says: The warming on Mars is caused by its tilt, while the warming on Earth is caused by the greenhouse effect.
The only dissenter mentioned in the article to this established explanation is Abdussamatov.
Dear Mr. or Ms. Plum,
The fact that the "only dissenter" is Abdussamatov doesn't count for much. The established view is pretty much unassailable and the reportage of the global warming phenomena is strikingly blasé about dissenters.
"His views are completely at odds with the mainstream scientific opinion," said Colin Wilson, a planetary physicist at England's Oxford University. "And they contradict the extensive evidence presented in the most recent IPCC report."
The "evidence" was a report for policy makers...an executive summary. Have you not seen the reports that the data has yet to be molded to fit the conclusions in the policy report?
Global Warming is, as President Chirac of France says: "a wonderful way to introduce world socialism run by the UN."
Regards,
Steve Erbach
The Town Crank
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