It should hardly come as a surprise to learn that the earth's climate is influenced by the giant nuclear explosion in the middle of our Solar System that we call the sun. After all, something like 99% of the mass of our Solar System is tied up in the sun, and it's the main source of energy all nearly all life on earth (with a few exceptions around deep ocean thermal vents, etc.) The problem of course is that the vast bulk of climate research funding is spent on trying to show ways in which humans effect the earth's climate. If that's what you look for, then of course that's what you're going to find, especially when you actively try to suppress any other kind of research. Here's an example of one of the few books daring to challenge the global agenda. Well, anyway, my point is that a new study has linked the 11 year Solar Cycle to the La Nina / El Nino weather cycles, not to mention other things.
"When the sun's output peaks, it has far-ranging and often subtle impacts on tropical precipitation and on weather systems around much of the world," said NCAR scientist Gerald Meehl, the lead author of the report.
I've posted earlier on the Solar Cycle, and how we're deep into a Solar Minimum, and long overdue for Solar Cycle 24. So how do things stand now? June/July have shown signs of a little more activity, but we're still a long way from saying that the current minimum is over. Here's the latest from Spaceweather.com:
Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 6 days
2009 total: 148 days (76%)
Since 2004: 659 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days
