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NASA schedules a press conference on the state of the sun


Global cooling cycles linked to a slight diminution in the activities of the sun have been explanations of periods of cold in the past for some time. Indeed, the New Scientist last week carried an interesting story which wondered if stone age men caused a slight global warming that helped stave off an ice age. The solar cycle has been linked to agriculture, and to the rise and fall of civilisations.

I am coming to the belief that, if the history of the hysterical last gasp of premillenarianism in our societies ever gets written, man-made global warming will be seen as a colossal diversion from the study of the sun's influence on our climate.

But, hey, carbon-credits have become a business, and environmentalism proves one's credentials with the western middle classes as an autonomous yet engaged individual. So that's alright then--or at least it will be until the carbon traders go down with their ship.

Something is stirring in space subsidy land. NASA, the American National Aeronautic and Space Administration, has scheduled a conference for next Tuesday. They promise new information on the lack of sunspot activity recently that this blog, from time to time, has been following. Their information, apparently could result in 'changing conditions in the solar system'.

It has been, since Vaudeville, an American trait to address Peoria and assume that one was talking to the world. In Manhattan, that might even be true. But, well, really?

Understatements of this sort (I'm reminded of Hirohito noting that 'the war had developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage' after this and this) are usually bad news for somebody. In this case, maybe everyone?

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