The next mini-ice age cometh?

[30ashopper]

Don't go breakin out all those parkas yet. Like many things, the media has an issue for make things worse than they are.

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/06/new-ice-age-dont-count-on-it.html

There's a simple problem with this claim. Let's assume that grand minima really do cool Earth's climate: not every climate scientist is convinced of that, but for the sake of argument let's go with it. Now the question becomes: how much do they cool it, and for how long?
The straightforward answer is: not enough. Last year researchers modelled what would happen to global temperatures if a grand minimum started now and continued until 2100. They found that it would lower temperatures by 0.3 °C at most.
That's not enough to compensate for our greenhouse gas emissions, which are set to raise temperatures by 2-4.5 °C by 2100. So in the most optimistic scenario, in which the grand minimum has the biggest effect possible and emissions their smallest, a rise of 2 °C would be reduced to 1.7 °C.
That isn't a new ice age: it's a slightly less severe heatwave.

I find it interesting that global warming proponents question scientific research that calls into question global warming, but they refuse to question the science behind what they promote.

 

[Alicia Leonard]

I find it interesting that global warming proponents question scientific research that calls into question global warming, but they refuse to question the science behind what they promote.

I find it not so interesting that people pick and choose the science they want to promote their political beliefs. I personally believe that we will not be wearing parkas in Florida any time soon.

 

[Bob]

Have you seen a graph of the rise in CO2 levels in the atmosphere? It hasn't run in "decade cycles" in the last 200 years. It flat-lined for about 10,000 years and now it's going up like a rocket. Please explain this to my feeble mind.

it's god's will to both give the earth and drive a hummer

 

[Bob]

I find it not so interesting that people pick and choose the science they want to promote their political beliefs. I personally believe that we will not be wearing parkas in Florida any time soon.

cotton, the state fiber

 

[Bob]

I find it interesting that global warming proponents question scientific research that calls into question global warming, but they refuse to question the science behind what they promote.

i question who funds the "research"

 

[Zebraspots]

I'm confused - the original article was referencing a prior time period when the temperature change was far more than .3 degrees.

 

[AlphaCrab]

I find it not so interesting that people pick and choose the science they want to promote their political beliefs. I personally believe that we will not be wearing parkas in Florida any time soon.

True Ms Leonard. But, when i built my house, I am just happy I spent the extra lettuce to yank my foundation up an additional 8 feet so I am 20 feet above sea level.