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Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

theregister.co.uk

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Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#91

Post by mattmiller »

scarmig wrote: post #19

The Maunder minimum argument has been around awhile. A useful counterbalance from NASA 2008: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2008/ -------------------------- "Solar irradiance: The solar output remains low (Fig. 4), at the lowest level in the period since satellite measurements began in the late 1970s, and the time since the prior solar minimum is already 12 years, two years longer than the prior two cycles. This h…

>Maunder minimum does somehow manage to give us a couple extra decades to get our house in order

Have you considered that this may change the scientific community's opinion on global warming? If CO2 levels drop faster than expected it may prove that CO2 levels are a symptom rather than a cause of climate change.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#92

Post by danparsonson »

ellyagg wrote: post #68
run4yourlives wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Point being that making a mess on another planet is more preferable than making a mess of the only one we have - and I have much more faith in our ability to make a mess of things than I do in our ability to "improve" the Earth's climate.

That's odd since the evidence we have so far points to humanity adapting our environment and improving our living conditions with breathtaking success.

Well yes and no - great short term success (of the order of decades or centuries), but we still don't know what the longer term impact of our activities will be; that's one of the big questions of climate science.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#93

Post by rvkennedy »

benihana wrote: post #37
nathanb wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't this then require us to "fart around" with the climate of the planets we colonize to make them more like Earth's?

Yes. But when Haliburton claims a planet, I don't really care if they fart around with its climate, because I'll never be allowed to go there anyway.

I've seen that movie - Avatar I think.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#94

Post by ck2 »

ja30278 wrote: post #63
ck2 wrote: post #58

I know climate change is not directly related to the current temperature but wow it's strange to read this when it's currently 100 degrees here (no exaggeration) and setting new temperature records for the past few decades. Basically what's happened is our overly aggressive industrialization has ruined the temperature stability we used to enjoy. And sadly we aren't done yet as China rushes to catch up while we blow u…

umm...you did notice that the article was talking about temperature variations caused by the GIANT NUCLEAR EXPLOSION AT THE CENTER OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES ALL OF OUR HEAT AND LIGHT....right? or are you suggesting that our pesky first-world lifestyles are somehow causing a decrease in sunspots.

No it means our lifestyles are reducing the earth's natural shielding and buffer from extreme changes. Earth is recovering more slowly and dealing more poorly with what is being thrown at it.

We have billions fewer trees around the world than we did even just a few hundred years ago.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#96

Post by ximeng »

fleitz wrote: post #31
scarmig wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"World temperatures could rise by between 1.1 and 6.4 °C (2.0 and 11.5 °F) during the 21st century" IPCC So, "one degree per century" is accurate if (a) you clarify you mean Celsius, not Farenheit and (b) you're saying the minimum increase, while also noting the maximum increase could be six times as high.

I know and not only that but the oceans could rise 6 whole inches. That's like half a foot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise says 90 to 880mm, with average estimate of 480 mm, i.e. 4 feet.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#97

Post by redthrowaway »

dy wrote: post #66
danparsonson wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Attempting to exercise control over such a chaotic system with simplistic solutions like giant space mirrors strikes me as a very bad idea indeed. Until we have a complete understanding of how the climate is regulated naturally I really don't see how we can do any good at all. Not to mention that, as you say, the politics are beyond us at the moment anyway (global consensus? yeah, right...)

You're not following Lean Climate Control practices.

Failing Fast seems suboptimal, here.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#98

Post by drndown2008 »

mattmiller wrote: post #91
scarmig wrote: post #19

The Maunder minimum argument has been around awhile. A useful counterbalance from NASA 2008: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2008/ -------------------------- "Solar irradiance: The solar output remains low (Fig. 4), at the lowest level in the period since satellite measurements began in the late 1970s, and the time since the prior solar minimum is already 12 years, two years longer than the prior two cycles. This h…

>Maunder minimum does somehow manage to give us a couple extra decades to get our house in order Have you considered that this may change the scientific community's opinion on global warming? If CO2 levels drop faster than expected it may prove that CO2 levels are a symptom rather than a cause of climate change.

Delaying it 60 years might help. If we ran out of oil, or started getting low by then (ie oil prices through the roof), that would be a big motivator, and help cut emissions.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#99

Post by chrischen »

goatforce5 wrote: post #85
curious_man wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I think this would be the simplest: the temperature at any given latitude will be the average of the last n years. Period. But maybe I'm too naive.

Who gets to define n?

Whoever has the most firepower.

Re: Earth may be headed into a mini Ice Age within a decade

#100

Post by redthrowaway »

curious_man wrote: post #36
natmaster wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For instance Canada may want the earth warmer, whereas Indian would want it cooler. (Since it benefits their respective latitudes.)

Well, I think this would be the simplest: the temperature at any given latitude will be the average of the last n years. Period. But maybe I'm too naive.

Simplest, but not optimal. Ideally you'd want to settle on a mean that:

a) Maximizes arable land, b) Minimizes climate-based natural disasters such as hurricanes, and c) Is as near to self-sustaining as possible. That is, the global mean should not lead to significant growing or shrinking of ice caps and glaciers, nor significantly alter carbon uptake by the oceans. While some degree of human control could make up for heterostatic forces, a swing too far in either direction would quickly exceed our ability to compensate.

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