Studies Debunk "Sun Causes Global Warming" Claim

By Cernig

Nope, it's us.

The research contradicts a favoured theory of climate "sceptics", that changes in cosmic rays coming to Earth determine cloudiness and temperature.

The idea is that variations in solar activity affect cosmic ray intensity.

But Lancaster University scientists found there has been no significant link between them in the last 20 years.

Presenting their findings in the Institute of Physics journal, Environmental Research Letters, the UK team explain that they used three different ways to search for a correlation, and found virtually none.

Another study by Mike Lockwood from the UK's Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory has showed that over the last 20 years, solar activity has been slowly declining, despite global temperatures increasing. That won't deter the wingnut denialists though, who insist that every unseasonal snowflake is proof that there's no such thing as global warming despite the simple fact that increased warming means increased energy in weather systems which in turn means increased chaos in those systems.

In a measure of just how small the naysayer camp is, Lloyd's of London is one of the most small-c conservative groups of people on the planet - but it's chairman last year said that "No one in the insurance industry seriously doubts that climate change is taking place." The London insurance market is already raising premiums in anticipation, trying to head off losses which it expects to dwarf those from asbestos contamination claims. Flood and disaster insurances are the most obvious casualties - but I personally wouldn't be surprised to see large class-action suits in coming years which could severely impact liability and reinsurance markets, and thus have a major impact on corporate profits and financial markets as a whole. Oil and energy companies which have funded denialist science will be especially vulnerable to such suits.