Isn't the Sun Really Just Hotter Now?

The Sun

Question: Isn't the Sun Really Just Hotter Now? 

Short Answer: No.

I can see where this would be an easier way of looking at the whole climate change crisis. It's simple, it involves that large yellow orb we all see every day in the sky that we all know is very hot to begin with - so no visuals really needed to illustrate this response to those concerned with climate change.

But unfortunately for proponents of this explanation, Science provides a more complex but not hard to understand view of the actual reality. Indeed, no part of 'the Sun is just hotter now' is true.  

Data from satellite collection (ACRIM) indicates that the energy output of the sun is actually lower now than it was earlier last decade.

 

Data from ACRIM (Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor).

 Satellite measurements of daily (light line) and monthly average (dark line).

Scientists have been observing the sun's solar output since 1979 and have observed that the solar output over an 11-year cycle only changes 0.1 percent.

The global warming that has been observed since the 1950's has not followed this pattern.

When the sun's warming is at it's peak, you would think that both the the lower and upper atmosphere would become warmer as more ultraviolet light is captured. Not so. The lower atmosphere (troposphere), as it traps more greenhouse gases (carbon, methane, etc.), becomes warmer. The upper atmosphere (stratosphere) becomes cooler as less ultraviolet light is able to reach this level because our carbon pollution is becoming more and more dense, trapped in our lower atmosphere.

This graph shows the changes in this dynamic over the past 30 years. This data is consistent with a warming planet from greenhouse gases and not from the solar output cycle. 

 Source: NASA. Graph by Robert Simmon

For more information about the many ways our planet is warming, visit NOAA's 10 Signs of a Warming World.

Talk to your representative and tell him or her your concerns and ask for action to be taken immediately.

I propose that the first step would be to set up a task force of climate scientists and ecologists to discuss the various solutions open to us at this point. As with any crisis, the longer we wait, the fewer the solutions available. Please don't wait and think someone else will address this.

THIS is every human on this planet's problem. Please do your part as it is a vital one and talk about this with your representative in Congress. Not sure who that is? In the United States, find your representative HERE.