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Earth's Hotspots Aren't Due to Sunspots

SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO POINT A FINGER AT THE SUN TO EXPLAIN CLIMATE CHANGE. LEARN WHY THEY SHOULD BE AIMING THOSE FINGERS AT THEMSELVES ON TODAY’S ENVIRONMINUTE.

CLIMATE CHANGE SKEPTICS SOMETIMES SAY THAT OUR WARMING WORLD IS MAINLY CAUSED BY SOLAR – NOT HUMAN – ACTIVITY.  IS THERE ANY TRUTH TO THIS CLAIM?

MIKE LOCKWOOD, A RESEARCHER AT SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND, ANALYZES SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS OF SOLAR ACTIVITY.  HE SAYS THAT ALTHOUGH THE SUN HAS INFLUENCED THE EARTH’S THERMOSTAT FOR AGES, RECENT TRENDS IN SOLAR ACTIVITY SHOULD HAVE THINGS COOLING DOWN – NOT HEATING UP.

LOCKWOOD:  SINCE 1985, EVERYTHING THE SUN’S BEEN DOING THAT COULD AFFECT OUR CLIMATE HAS BEEN GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, SO YOU CAN BE PRETTY SURE THE GLOBAL WARMING WE’VE SEEN OVER THE LAST TWENTY OR THIRTY YEARS IS NOT DUE TO CHANGES IN THE SUN.

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Read the study online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A.