EnviroSpin Watch

Heard about this in The Guardian and on Today?

Now, here is some magisterial research published in August about which we have heard remarkably little in the British media, with the exception of quality outlets like Nature. I wonder why?

In a formidable research paper (GSA Today, vol.13, p. 4), Professor Ján Veizer (one of the world's most renowned geochemists - University of Ottawa and Ruhr University) and Dr. Nir Shaviv (a leading astrophysicist - The Racah Institute of Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) have demonstrated that the influence of carbon dioxide, natural or human-induced, in the atmosphere is likely to be severely capped by the action of what is known as the cosmic ray flux (CRF). Their study shows that periods of lower temperatures are generated by peak periods of cosmic rays promoting low-level cloud formation. Professor Veizer and Dr. Shaviv go on to argue that as much as 66 - 75% of climate variation through the millennia is probably related to cosmic ray fluctuations. Dr. Shaviv is quoted as saying that, "The operative significance of our research is that a significant reduction of the release of greenhouse gases will not significantly lower the global temperature."

Ouch! If Shaviv and Veizer are correct, then the Good Ships 'Global Warming' and 'Kyoto Protocol' are severely holed below the water line and sinking fast. Come on The Guardian and the BBC - why no reporting of this? It is top notch science and cannot be ingored for political expediency! Let us have open discussion of all the science please, comfortable or not!

Here is the original August 12 EurekaAlert: 'Global warming not man-made phenomenon.'

Here is a scientific commentary on the new research: 'Cosmic rays vs. CO2: the battle for climate change primacy.'

Science for real thought! Philip.