The most recent research from the July 23rd issue of Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, one of the top academic journals in the field of climate science, has reached conclusions that should, but won’t, doom any public policy efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the name of thwarting global warming. The paper is by three scientists, two from Australia and one from New Zealand. From the abstract published with the paper, here’s what they conclude:
Overall the results suggest that the Southern Oscillation exercises a
consistently dominant influence on mean global temperature, with a
maximum effect in the tropics, except for periods when equatorial
volcanism causes ad hoc cooling. That mean global tropospheric
temperature has for the last 50 years fallen and risen in close accord
with the SOI [Southern Oscillation Index] of 5?7 months earlier shows the potential of natural
forcing mechanisms to account for most of the temperature variation.
As suggested though, these conclusions will have no influence on the climate alarmists and their push for a government takeover of the energy industry via cap and trade legislation. This is because the issue is much bigger than whether global warming is human or nature induced. In the words of former Colorado senator and under secretary of state for global affairs in the Clinton Administration, Timothy Wirth, “We’ve got to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global
warming is wrong, we will be doing the right thing — in terms of economic
policy and environmental policy.”
The complete press release for the study can be found here.