Scientists: The earth is cooling but we don't know why

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Earth's climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat.

"This is nothing like anything we've seen since 1950," Kyle Swanson of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said. "Cooling events since then had firm causes, like eruptions or large-magnitude La Ninas. This current cooling doesn't have one."

...

The discrepancy gets to the heart of one of the toughest problems in climate science -- identifying the difference between natural variability (like the occasional March snowstorm) from human-induced change.

But just what's causing the cooling is a mystery. Sinking water currents in the north Atlantic Ocean could be sucking heat down into the depths. Or an overabundance of tropical clouds may be reflecting more of the sun's energy than usual back out into space.

"It is possible that a fraction of the most recent rapid warming since the 1970s was due to a free variation in climate," Isaac Held of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Princeton, New Jersey wrote in an email to Discovery News. "Suggesting that the warming might possibly slow down or even stagnate for a few years before rapid warming commences again."

Swanson thinks the trend could continue for up to 30 years. But he warned that it's just a hiccup, and that humans' penchant for spewing greenhouse gases will certainly come back to haunt us.

"When the climate kicks back out of this state, we'll have explosive warming," Swanson said. "Thirty years of greenhouse gas radiative forcing will still be there and then bang, the warming will return and be very aggressive."

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/02/g...ause-print.html

[Peikko 1,575]

Nature just wants humans to exterminate themselves. A nice 'cooling' phase just to lull the skeptics into a false sense of security then whamo, meltdown!

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

It's the Sun!!!!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It's the Sun!!!!

The scientists say they're not sure why the earth is cooling, so I sure am glad we have you to tell us.

[dalegg 143]

He's back.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Earth's climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat.

"This is nothing like anything we've seen since 1950," Kyle Swanson of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said. "Cooling events since then had firm causes, like eruptions or large-magnitude La Ninas. This current cooling doesn't have one."

...

The discrepancy gets to the heart of one of the toughest problems in climate science -- identifying the difference between natural variability (like the occasional March snowstorm) from human-induced change.

But just what's causing the cooling is a mystery. Sinking water currents in the north Atlantic Ocean could be sucking heat down into the depths. Or an overabundance of tropical clouds may be reflecting more of the sun's energy than usual back out into space.

"It is possible that a fraction of the most recent rapid warming since the 1970s was due to a free variation in climate," Isaac Held of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Princeton, New Jersey wrote in an email to Discovery News. "Suggesting that the warming might possibly slow down or even stagnate for a few years before rapid warming commences again."

Swanson thinks the trend could continue for up to 30 years. But he warned that it's just a hiccup, and that humans' penchant for spewing greenhouse gases will certainly come back to haunt us.

"When the climate kicks back out of this state, we'll have explosive warming," Swanson said. "Thirty years of greenhouse gas radiative forcing will still be there and then bang, the warming will return and be very aggressive."

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/02/g...ause-print.html

Fixed that for ya.

[dalegg 143]

Earth's climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat.

"This is nothing like anything we've seen since 1950," Kyle Swanson of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said. "Cooling events since then had firm causes, like eruptions or large-magnitude La Ninas. This current cooling doesn't have one."

...

The discrepancy gets to the heart of one of the toughest problems in climate science -- identifying the difference between natural variability (like the occasional March snowstorm) from human-induced change.

But just what's causing the cooling is a mystery. Sinking water currents in the north Atlantic Ocean could be sucking heat down into the depths. Or an overabundance of tropical clouds may be reflecting more of the sun's energy than usual back out into space.

"It is possible that a fraction of the most recent rapid warming since the 1970s was due to a free variation in climate," Isaac Held of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Princeton, New Jersey wrote in an email to Discovery News. "Suggesting that the warming might possibly slow down or even stagnate for a few years before rapid warming commences again."

Swanson thinks the trend could continue for up to 30 years. But he warned that it's just a hiccup, and that humans' penchant for spewing greenhouse gases will certainly come back to haunt us.

"When the climate kicks back out of this state, we'll have explosive warming," Swanson said. "Thirty years of greenhouse gas radiative forcing will still be there and then bang, the warming will return and be very aggressive."

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/03/02/g...ause-print.html

Fixed that for ya.

[Waldo 0]

He's back.

Where the hell do you get a blue cigar and how do you light it?

All I have to say is if your trying to predict the weather good luck... they can't tell you what it's going to be like past RIGHT NOW!

[HAL 9000 96]

Oh sh!t AJ... we need more of your sh!t stirring... Gosh I miss the old science lessons.

[Ban Hammer 14,573]

It's the Sun!!!!

[NickD 203]

Recall when Mount Saint Helen blew her cork, we had a -45*F winter, also read our trend of global warming peeked out at 1999, not 2001, but hell, that is just a couple of years.

Also read an article where average temperatures are recorded from boxes located at airports where inside of the box is much hotter than the ambient causing all the data to be inaccurate.

We may be aware that congress disagrees, but all that stuff they talk about is arbitrary, when it comes to science, everyone should agree, don't know exactly the odds, but when it comes to global warming, seems to be about 50-50, should be 100-0, either way, who cares.

Some are called idiots on this board because the don't know the difference between weather and climate, but average weather determines climate. Sure there are guys in Australia screaming about global warmer, here in Wisconsin, we had the coldest winter in recorded history last year with subzero weather in both October and March that is very unusual.

But it is politically correct for us to say we have global warming, so let's be politically correct. This entire subject was on the backburner until Gore made his cartoon movie, now everyone is talking about it. He didn't get that Nobel prize for the contents of his cartoon, but for bringing this to our attention, but anyway, let's all buy a hybrid car. Wonder if Gore is getting a commission on that?

[Peikko 1,575]

Recall when Mount Saint Helen blew her cork, we had a -45*F winter, also read our trend of global warming peeked out at 1999, not 2001, but hell, that is just a couple of years.

Also read an article where average temperatures are recorded from boxes located at airports where inside of the box is much hotter than the ambient causing all the data to be inaccurate.

We may be aware that congress disagrees, but all that stuff they talk about is arbitrary, when it comes to science, everyone should agree, don't know exactly the odds, but when it comes to global warming, seems to be about 50-50, should be 100-0, either way, who cares.

Some are called idiots on this board because the don't know the difference between weather and climate, but average weather determines climate. Sure there are guys in Australia screaming about global warmer, here in Wisconsin, we had the coldest winter in recorded history last year with subzero weather in both October and March that is very unusual.

But it is politically correct for us to say we have global warming, so let's be politically correct. This entire subject was on the backburner until Gore made his cartoon movie, now everyone is talking about it. He didn't get that Nobel prize for the contents of his cartoon, but for bringing this to our attention, but anyway, let's all buy a hybrid car. Wonder if Gore is getting a commission on that?

GW is nothing to do with 'political correctness' at least outside the US and Al Gore did not have anything to do with GW awareness outside of the US either.

You are also inaccurate about average weather determining climate. Simply untrue.

[Peikko 1,575]

Climate determines average weather

[almaty 19]

[NickD 203]

Climate determines average weather

Climate determines "LOCAL" average weather. See, even we can't even agree, which was my main point.