The Little Ice Age (LIA) occurred from roughly 1300 to 1850. The coldest part of the LIA, from 1645 to 1715, was also a period of very low sunspot activity, known as the Maunder Minimum.
I bring this up because three independent studies were released yesterday, each predicting that in the next solar cycle, beginning sometime in 2013, sunspot activity "may be going into hibernation", as put by a spokesman for the National Solar Observatory. Sunspot activity is predicted to be at its lowest level since the Maunder Minimum.
Some scientists are openly wondering whether this phenomenon could hint at the coming of another LIA. Others say not so fast, increasing levels of CO2 could offset any cooling that may occur. But from what I've read, they are all paying very close attention to what is going on with the sun. As National Geographic put it: "A prolonged lull in solar activity has astrophysicists glued to their telescopes waiting to see what the sun will do next—and how Earth's climate might respond." Wow. Sounds like they're concerned. Maybe the climate is going to do whatever it does regardless of what mankind does.
So, is the world going to end in fire or ice? Beats me. And apparently it has a lot of scientists baffled. But starting today, I'm going to do every thing I can to increase my carbon footprint and my methane footprint. Golf balls go farther on hot days than on cold ones.
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