A study from Germany looks at trends in solar surface radiation. Contrary to the claims of the climate hysterics, the climate on earth is driven by the sun, how much energy we get from the sun, what happens when it hits the earth, how much of the radiation actually makes it to the surface, how the amount of incoming radiation and the amount reaching the surface changes over time, etc. The German study finds that recently a higher amount of solar radiation is hitting the surface. Think that might have something to do with any recent increase in temperatures? Why is more reaching the surface–gee, as the climate realists have long explained, it has to do with clouds and aerosols and the impact of other “environmental” policies. Removing “pollution” means removing aerosols; removing aerosols from the atmosphere means more radiation reaches the surface instead of being reflected or absorbed. Aerosols also play a role in cloud formation, as do many other complex factors. Cloud cover generally has decreased in recent years, also increasing the amount of solar radiation hitting the surface.
The climate system is very complex, so complex that it is absurd to say we actually understand it. For whatever reason, likely with some significant human inputs, aerosols and cloud cover have declined in recent years and the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface has increased, thereby raising measured temps at the surface, but not necessarily in the totality of the atmosphere and not necessarily uniformly around the earth. I have seen no good explanation for why increased CO2 would lead to lower aerosols and lower cloud cover; I don’t think there is one. So much for being the climate control knob. And while some say that the higher cloud cover and aerosols in the past were masking warming, if that were true it would only prove that warming was occurring without regard to increasing CO2 levels. (EM Article)
A second post at Watts Up With That gives a detailed reconstruction of temperature over the last few thousand years. The current period between ice ages is known as the Holocene. This period of relative warmth is why humans were able to spread across the entire earth and develop a complex, technological society. Within this inter-ice age period there has been substantial variation in temperature and remaining ice cover. The temperature changes we are experiencing today (which are greatly exaggerated by hysterics in any event) are not unusual. There are multiple periods of very rapid increases and declines in temperature. The increases are generally associated with substantial growth in civilization. You might almost conclude that warmth is good. There is very good reason to believe that any recent temperature changes are due to natural variability, not that villainous CO2. And you will see looking at this chart that the general trend in temperature has been down interrupted by occasional spikes up or down. (WUWT Post)
