re: #276 austin_blue

Where do I begin? Really, the facts are the facts. CO2 increases in the atmosphere in excess of 300 pp(million) (my mistake-it’s not billion) in the last 150 years are solely because of human activity. There is no other explanation. Have there been previous times when the Earth was hotter than it is now? Yes. Absolutely. But the last several million years has seen a steady state of glaciation/inter-glaciation cycles where both general temperature swings and CO2 cycles have been reasonably stable. Sunspot cycles are short wave, and we are in a low state at the moment (perhaps responsible for the slowing of warming in the northern hemisphere that we have seen for the last six years). But that cycle is about to swing back.

Question: If the global temperatures increase by 2 degrees during the next sunspot cycle, will you be convinced?

Yes I will be convinced that the sun and its spots have everything to do with our temperature. CO2 follows the increase in temperature, not precedes it. Volcanoes in one fell swoop put more CO2 in the atmosphere than man ever has. Stop reading Wikipedia as your source.