Abstract
In spite of the differences and controversies about recent warming trends, there is one common denominator that ought not to garner any disagreement from anyone. Despite often heard claims that the Sun is not the cause of warming, in fact, just a little thought soon makes clear that actually it is present in every scenario, no matter how we look at things. It is indeed responsible for all but the minutest energy from other distant sources in the galaxy, or from the even remoter cosmic microwave background (Fig. 2.1). Thus, one way or another the Sun is always part of any climate scenario, whether directly, indirectly, or by any other less obvious means. If it were not for its energy, life could not exist. And we need to recognize that climate change can mean cooling instead, depending on the larger principles governing it. Things do not always have to get hotter.
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Notes
- 1.
Coincidentally, Fairbridge had also been a pioneer in studying clear periodic cycles well known today, including those evident in carbon-14 (14C) and beryillium-18 (18Be) deposits, also including, of course, all of those seen in sedimentary deposits and transient structures such as rock formations, ice cores and even tree rings. Although astronomers had looked for links to climate change for centuries, Fairbridge could presumably lay claim to being one of the founding figures of such modern research. His work was significant among efforts that would lead to final acceptance of the theory put forward by Milutin Milankovitch (see Chap. 5), the originator the astronomical/climate connection that bears his name, one that ultimately would trail-blaze the way to other such theories to be proposed in recent years.
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Cooke, A. (2012). The Physics of a Crisis. In: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis. Astronomers' Universe. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4608-8_2
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