Top 5 Misconceptions of Climate Change Part 3

By Gabe Mouer

When we last left off we saw objections to climate change that utilized scientific data in an attempt to prove their claim. Misreading or misinterpreting data is perhaps the most common mistake when investigating climate change. As we will see, even a handful of scientifically learned individuals can mistake cause and effect and come to the conclusion that climate change is not man-made.

2) “Warming is caused by increased activity from the sun.”

The most scientifically ardent of anthropogenic climate deniers point to a relatively recent surge in solar activity as a natural explanation for Global Warming. In 2004 the BBC published an article with the startling headline “Sunspots Reach 1,000 year High.” Citing evidence presented by Dr Solanki, it shows that as sun spots have increased in the past, so too has the Earth's temperature.¹ Unfortunately, this is an example of Conformation Bias; looking only at the evidence that supports your claim while ignoring that which does not. Though there are many instances where an increase in solar flares correlates with an increase in global temperature, there are also a near equal amount where they do not. This includes the last 35 years in which the sun has shown a cooling trend while the Earth has done the opposite.²

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For a detailed breakdown of the evidence, I wholeheartedly recommend Peter Sinclair's Solar Schmolar video on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Sf_UIQYc20

Next week I will wrap up our Top 5 countdown to see which takes the coveted top spot.

1http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3869753.stm

2http://skepticalscience.com/solar-activity-sunspots-global-warming-basic.htm