 Global temperature change can be attributed to slight variations in the
sun's energy output, not man-made carbon dioxide emissions. That's
according to astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon, who was in Salt Lake City
today to present his research to a crowd at The Sutherland Institute.
"When
the sun is slightly brighter, meaning giving more light to Earth's
system, the temperature warms in the Arctic," said Soon. "With the
cooling that we observed in the Arctic from the 1940s to the 1970s,
guess what the sun is doing? It's actually dimming slightly, ever so
slightly. And then, guess what happened after the late 1970s? The sun
brightens again."
Dr. Soon works for the Harvard-Smithsonian
center for Astrophysics. He says while carbon dioxide emissions have
risen during the warming period of the past three decades, the fact
that global temperatures decreased during the middle of the 20th
century suggest there is no connection.
The astrophysicist says it's important not to confuse local pollution with global temperature change.
"I
find that on the aspect of carbon dioxide, it is highly misleading to
try to suggest that CO2 is that kind of a satanic gas," said Soon.
"It's been said by some of my colleagues that people imagine CO2 is
that kind of bad gas, that will melt the poles and kill the polar bears
and make the coral die."
Soon's presentation this morning was
part of The Sutherland Institute's Earth Week, a series of events to
counter the view that humans are responsible for global warming and
suggest that "green" policies hurt Americans. Listen to a conversation
with Dr. Soon below.
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