Climategate?

I received an email earlier today from Lorna Phillips of Harwood that posed a very interesting question…

“Dear Jay, will you please tell us about sun spots and how the lack of them affect our weather. Are we suffering with the cold weather because of a lack of sun spots?”

Since I have been asked a number of times over the past few weeks to weigh in on the so-called “Climategate” scandal and global warming I thought I’d better respond to this email as best I can. First of all, I must preface my response by making it very clear that I am not a meteorologist or climatologist. I am a broadcaster that is studying meteorology and, although I am working towards becoming broadcast meteorologist, the scientists and researchers that have been gathering in Copenhagen over the last few weeks have a far greater understanding of our planet’s atmosphere than I will probably ever have. These folks dedicate their lives to studying our planet’s climate.

That being said, I still have an opinion and I feel that Lorna’s question touches on something that doesn’t get a lot of attention when it comes to climate change and that is the sun. Life on our planet would not exist without that big, orange ball in the sky. Every living creature on this planet is either a primary or secondary consumer of the sun’s energy. It is the sun, and not carbon, that heats our atmosphere. Our planet converts short wave radiation emitted from the sun into long wave radiation that warms the atmosphere from below. Environmentalists argue that too much carbon in our atmosphere is causing our planet to heat up, and the science seems to back this up. But we have to remember that our planet has been both warmer and colder numerous times throughout history, long before human influence. Oh and Lorna, there is also evidence that the sun may be the driving force behind climate change.

Lorna may be on to something with this email and a lot of scientists are asking the same question. The sun, much like the earth, has its own cycle of “solar activity.” I remember working as a radio operator with the military back in 2001 and how high solar activity made communications very challenging. Since 2001 the sun has become “less active” and some solar scientists are actually concerned that this lack of activity will lead to a period of “global cooling.” Imagine that! There is also evidence that our planet has cooled over the last few years leading to that whole “Climategate” thingy with the release of those hacked emails.

So to answer your question Lorna…I don’t know. That doesn’t mean you’re asking a bad question, you’re just asking the wrong person. I am a broadcaster by trade and am years away from having the knowledge to answer such a great question. (Thanks to Mississippi State University I am working on that though). But Lorna, I urge you to ask other people that question. Ask the experts, the scientists and the researchers because it is a question that is not being asked enough. A lot of the folks that recently gathered in Copenhagen would have done well to ask that very question so thank you for forwarding it to me.

Now to answer the other question I have received in my inbox over the last few weeks. What are my thoughts on climate change? In my opinion I think the science is very young. The recording of temperature and precipitation data is a product of the late 19th and early 20th century and does not go back that far. So is the earth warming up? Science shows that, for the most part, it is. Is carbon the culprit? Well…in my opinion it wouldn’t hurt to drive smaller cars, and consume less energy. We would all be better off if we reduced our waste including the burning of fossil fuels. Smart Car drivers are on to something. I just think that there may be more to our changing climate than what comes out of our tail pipes. By asking questions like Lorna’s, hopefully we’ll come closer to understanding more about our ever changing planet.