Is There "Unstoppable Global Warming Every 1,500 Years"?-A Contrary Point of View

Last year, a week after the Harvard Crimson published a shocking editorial chiding Nobel Laureate Al Gore, Stanford University held a luncheon entitled "Is Global Warming a Myth?"

To erase any doubts about our position on global warming, The Daily Galaxy believes that common sense dictates that human technological civilization has impacted natural climatic cycles.

The Stanford guest speaker was the world-renowned global warming skeptic S. Frederick Singer, a former space scientist and government scientific administrator.

Singer, who holds PhD in Physics from Princeton University, was a Special adviser to President Eisenhower on space developments, a professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, and co-author of  Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years.

In this New York Times bestseller, authors Singer and co-author Avery present the compelling concept that global temperatures have been rising mostly or entirely because of a natural cycle. Using historic data from two millennia of recorded history combined with natural physical records, they argue that the 1,500 year natural sunspot magnetic waves cycle that has always controlled the earth's climate remains the driving force in the current warming trend. Man created carbon dioxide has very little effect on the earth's climate.

Since the 1,500 year cycle was discovered in the early 1980's it's general characteristics have been confirmed by measurements in: tree rings (living, preserved and fossilized), pollen, coral, glaciers, boreholes, stalagmites, tree lines, and sea sediments. The most recent cycles have been recorded in human history with forced migrations, starvation, and disease during the cold portion of the cycle and greater population, expanded farm land, greater crop variety, and extra building during the warm portion.

The causes of the 1,500 year cycle are not well understood although 600 of them have been identified in the last million years. This permits the authors to be relatively confident that we have been moving into the warm phase of the cycle for the last 150 years. It also suggests that we may have one or two degrees more warming if we are to get to the typical high of the warm phase.

Although the warm phase of the cycle has been typically more regular than the cold phase, it does not move steadily to a peak and then fall off, but rather moves abruptly higher at the start of the warm phase followed by highly irregular (but modestly higher) temperatures for hundreds of years.

Singer explained that the recent warming the Earth has experienced is not dangerous and is not something humans could alter. Global warming activists such as Al Gore, Singer believes, are hyping the problem. He said that such activists have not come close to demonstrating that human-generated greenhouse gases are contributing to global warming.

If politicians truly wanted to make a change to affect energy use, Singer told the Stanford audience, they would have to increase taxes on gasoline, which would decrease use of vehicles. He believes that such taxes would hit people of low income the hardest.

Singer claimed that many businesses, such as the wind farm industry, are making money off the global warming hype. Singer said that it is essential to convince the proponents of global warming that what they are doing is counterproductive and will not make any difference to the climate.

Let's get Singer and Al Gore to an Oxford Union debate...We suspect it would be a "Ross Perot moment" all over again.

Posted by Casey Kazan.

Related Galaxy posts:

Creator of the Gaia Theory: Status of "Spaceship Earth"
The Great Debate: How Fast Will Sea Levels Rise?
The Andes Vanishing Glaciers
The Day the Seas Died: What Can the Greatest of All Extinction Events Teach Us About Climate Change?
The Timeline For 21st Century “Climate Change Events”
Coming of Age in the Holocene
"Snowball Earth" Challenged
Bigger Threat than Global Warming -Mass Species Extinction
A "Flat World" Solution to Climate Change
Monitoring Climate Change -Experts Say We Need Lunar Observatories
Unraveling the Mysteries of -Clues to Climate Change on Earth?
Arctic Discovery –Ancient Connections & the Global Climate
Stephen Hawking: Climate Change Greatest Threat Facing Planet
Arctic’s Legendary Northwest Passage is Ice-Free for the First Time in Recorded History
Coming War for the Arctic?

Story Link:

Stanford Uni serves global warming myth

Comments

[Dandaman]

Even if CO2 isn't causing the teperture rise, were sure it's responsible for acidifying the oceans, killing off valuble corals, changing the very eco-system that so many rely on for food. Why would we not take the opportunity to change to less poluting, eco freindly, renewable energy, for the health of EVERYTHING? There's nothing counter productive about that. (unless your bonus checks rely on poluting archaic energy, where consumers can continue to be gouged)

[Dandaman]

Even if CO2 isn't causing the teperture rise, were sure it's responsible for acidifying the oceans, killing off valuble corals, changing the very eco-system that so many rely on for food. Why would we not take the opportunity to change to less poluting, eco freindly, renewable energy, for the health of EVERYTHING? There's nothing counter productive about that. (unless your bonus checks rely on poluting archaic energy, where consumers can continue to be gouged)

[Raven Daegmorgan]

Or perhaps this prestigious scientist should read more research. One minute of Googling produced this page -- http://www.climate.org/topics/climate-change/debunking-climate-change-myths.html -- and the sunspot theory is urban myth number one.

Another minute of Googling produced this page -- http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/1/21/11832/1079 -- and the information that Singer's "science" has been repeatedly debunked, even by himself in '98 and '03. He's just decided to sing the same song to a different tune, now: "The climate isn't warming...oh, wait, it is!..but it's still nothing to worry about, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain writing my paychecks!"

[Ledg]

We certainly wouldn't want to over-estimate the sun's importance in influencing our climate.

Having said that, we are at an historical low point in solar radiation, the so-called Maunder minimum, which apparently produced the little ice age when it last occurred.

So, do I invest in sun scream or woolies?

[Yeah Right]

GLOBAL WARMING IS A RELIGION!

[Brian DiPierdomenico]

Isn't this debate over already. Does anyone remember that study done in 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - organized by the United Nations. Maybe Mr. Singer needs to read the Synthesis Report on Climate Change produced by scores of scientists from around the world and realize that the debate of whether or not climate change is a result of human behaviour is over.

[McGee]

Brian DiPierdomenico :
Once you make the claim that the debate is over it is no longer science. Science demands criticism, arguments, testing.
Religion and Dogma declare that the argument is over and one must adhere.

Take note that I'm not arguing either case but simply stating that pointing to a paper prepared for/by politicians and declaring the argument over is the antithesis of science.

[T. Miller]

Contrary to popular public opinion, the theory of global warming did not originate with Al Gore. He is merely a spokesperson and publicizer. Gore conveys information to the public from scientific organizations such as IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. agency) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an American agency.) These agencies, controlled by scientific advisory boards, review and summarize the best available research published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The reports of these agencies represent a consensus of thousands of scientists, highly qualified to have an opinion.

Of course there will be dissenters. Singer is one of them. Are you going to believe him, or the combined voices of the best scientists available?

Singer *might* be right, of course. And thousands of tiny winged monkeys dressed in purple silk pajamas *might* fly out of my butt. But the odds are against it.

Consider the likelihood that Singer is wrong, and then consider the catastrophe that will occur if global warning is ignored until it is too late.

[Dale]

"It's" is the contraction for "it is".

"Its" is the possessive of "it".

And Dandaman is right, the oceans are becoming acidic from absorbing excess CO2, there's no denying that. There's also no denying that the excess CO2 comes from us. It's a simple calculation, just take the amount of fossil fuel consumed in the world and calculate how much CO2 it would produce if burned. It adds a small percent each year to the atmosphere, and this increase is easily measurable. This much is not rocket science, it's simple arithmetic.

[John]

Hopefully Singer is right this time. It sure would stupid if he was wrong on this the way he was when he called the link between smoking and cancer, "junk science".

[Jason]

Singer? Who cares what that shill for hire has to say. He's got as much credibility in science as Merlin the Magician.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Two words you ignorant global warming believers.

Holocene Maximum

The liberal retards in this world (i am neither liberal or conservative) what to sit here and state that there is all this "proof" when any scientist not under the UN (a pointless organization) or other corporate entity that is funded by global warming research will argue the validity of global warming all day long.

The clearest evidence that this planet has natural cycles that occur and that we are in fact at the end of an ice age - Yes that is right we are at the end of an ICE AGE.

Oh and what about the "global cooling" scare from the 40's until the 70's - Why does this get overlooked?

Anyways...

Holocene Maximum

Look it up morons.

[Caligula]

@T Miller: Wth believes that Al Gore came up with the theory of global warming?!

[alphaxion]

Don't you think the agendas of "CO2 emissions" and the demands to cut them down are a bit of a diversion?

You can cut down the emissions to the point where we're not giving any off and the major problem will still be here.

Rampant over population of the human species.

Is it really sustainable to have almost 7 billion humans all consuming resources at ever increasing rates?

Shouldn't we be looking at ways of reducing this head count? Be they space based colonies and farms or other drastic measures - tho limiting people in their reproduction tends to be a human disaster waiting to happen, just look at China for that.

I fully believe that our numbers will cause greater problems than CO2 concentrations and temperature fluctuations are ever capable of. The Earth has been warmer and it has been colder, nature will rebound from these.

But can it rebound from humanity tearing down and wiping out whole ecosystems. Just look at our "war" on insects, the single most important species on this planet. GE crops that are resistant to them, pesticides et al. What will happen if we cause their numbers to drop rapidly?

Our actions to preserve ourselves serve to only doom ourselves. We need to find a way of living sustainably, and pushing to cut our CO2 emmissions will not work - it's lip service for those who don't wish to approach the really thorny issue and the core problem surrounding the fate of our planet.

[John Stossel]

Wow, you have to admit that is some cool stuff dude!

www.anonweb.pro.tc

[Michael Duvinak]

There was one little nugget in that article that stood out to me. Singer, when discussing the 1500 year cycle, said they "are not well understood." This is preferable to "the debate is over," and "we have a consensus." Clearly, as has become evident in the last couple of years, there's not a consensus and the debate isn't over. Bravo Fred Singer for not stooping to the level of a global warming alarmist.

[maudyfish]

Johnny Appleseed hold your tongue! Now listen up, we have been pumping on a "daily" basis chemicals into the atmosphere for 100 years. For the past 50 years we have been putting CFC's into the atmosphere. We were warned then that these chemicals were deadly to the Ozone and still we have been sitting on our behinds watching it happen. Even volcanoes spew out stuff but that doesn't happen on a "daily" as humans are doing to our atmosphere. We have been warned, we are aware of it and yet we sit idly and let countries get by with this. No, we should be in emergency mode. Here, here for Al Gore you stood up and spoke up about these problems.... I hope he continues until we all sit up and take notice!

[George Carlin]

The planet is fine... the people are fucked!

[chaux cedric]

From Hardvard.. a natural explanation to climate change.

We need to listen to global warming skeptics and also see who funds their research.

Even global warming is natural consequnence and has explanation in astronomy , it doesn't change the fact that we pollute our hearth ( gaia ) and need to manage it urgently if we want to carry a sustainable existence here.

[chias]

"they might want to consider that 'natural' climatic temperature cycles control carbon dioxide levels, not the other way around. That's the crux of his argument with Gore's view of global warming — he says carbon dioxide doesn't control global temperature, and certainly not in a direct, linear way."

"the thing he doesn't mention is that there are 2.4 billion people in India and China who have launched a campaign that will increase their energy consumption by a factor of 10. No matter what we do. If we somehow cut our CO2 emissions in half, you wouldn't be able to measure the difference because of the role played by India and China."

taken from:
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/science_al_gore_is_a_greenhouse_gasbag/

[TyD]

What about the Medieval Warming Period? It was as warm then as it is today, and yet they didn't have the technology we do to "pump CO2 into the atmosphere". So, why was it so warm back then?

[WriterWriter]

The idea that humans have caused and can have any effect on global warming and cooling cycles is ridiculous.

I have, just this week, had a conversation with Dr. Ian Clark, a climate scientist at University of Ottawa. He says, in his letter to me, that he is more convinced than ever that humans have zero to do with climate alterations.

His letter and links to more of his writing are postd on my blog.

PlEASE read it. Al Gore and his ilk an agenda that is fully detrimental to the environment first of all, and to humans generally.

[claudio]

Dear Mr.Singer and the other panelists of 'Natural warming'...you must be jocking around history.

Yes it is true that North America was was empty of universities and wise people......but here around the civilization was quite developed....in those days 1500Y agò.

We have NEVER 'heard or read' from any history document that in the years around 510 AD a 'warm age' surrounded our ancestors in west Europe.

Junk....even if actual ice tests might prove that content of ATM gases and pollution was different from what is is now.

Another GAIA bizar story...????

What magic number is 1500Y Cycle ???? Where it comes from ???

On the other end the influence of human created-induced pollution might prove to be e secondary contribution in terms of 'Warming'....

ALL , also including the so called 'scientists' :
The word 'GLOBAL' is indeed rather surprising in a supposedly scientific community community...what does it means 'GLOBAL Warming' ?? Is it a spread global temperature increase ...relating to an 'AVERAGE' ???? Relating to a 'MEDIAN' value of the temperature at various locations ??...

Bull shit...here if we observe well rather than listening at panelists...there are areas of the world (e.g. the polar regions..may be others..) where there is an evident increase of the temperature...and in fact the immense glaciers of those areas are melting into the oceans...

BUT there are other vast areas of the same planet where the temperature is lower than normal..than average in the last 100Y (average in the time domain).

Here in the MED is more cold than in other areas and we are likely at a historical minimum.

I do NOT perceive that in the equatorial strip and in the tropical strip (+ & - 23 Degree latitude north)of this very planet there is an Increase of max or min temperature...NONE.

It is true that seas have a general problem..in fact we humans damp in the seas of this planet every possible kind of garbage...one could imagine.

Meanwhile the wise government of Brasil and other states where the tropical pluvial forest still exist....are doing NOTHING VS the insane cuts...sponsored by the forniture and construction 'multi-nationals Co'.

Is GEA producing enough Oxigen ????

NO...FLAT...

And in addition the population of the planet is dramatically increasing...and is also dramatically increasing the use of Hydrocarbons (consumption /man/year)......

Hence we are glad that there are intense debates about the so called 'global warming' that is totally meaningless in scientific terms (see 'averages' and 'median values' above) .....BUT it is also true that we are a DIRTY kind...doing to this exact planet all what we can do....and even more.
Tne CYCLES of 1500Y or 22KY or other can be fished ,rescued and USED...and debated in various controversy, BUT these do not change the reality of us : Dirty humans beings....

Regards

[J. Daniel]

Many people, including Singer and many posters here, fall into a category best exemplified by paraphrasing Al Gore (who may have been quoting someone else, not sure): there is no one so hard to convince as someone whose paycheck depends on them not understanding.

[GlobalRickWarming]

/facepalm to all these comments. Heres a gem might help you in your quest for a possible truth in the so called 'issue' of global warming. The Vostak ice core data taken from antartica in 1999. This is the evidence of the natural cycle the ALARMISTS would like you to not see. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vostok-ice-core-petit.png ...ehem ITS A CYCLE.

thousands of green activists must cry everytime a volcano goes off. Why? because everything they did to lessen their carbon foot print was completely useless.