By
James A. Marusek
@ Impact 2009
(Editor's Note: James A. Marusek is a retired nuclear physicist who has allowed me to publish is work for many years. I think This 2009 presentation is as profound today as it was eight years ago. This link will introduce you to other pieces he's done over the years. RK)
There is a lot of talk these days about the legacy we will leave our children and our
grandchildren. When I stare into the immediate future, I see a frightening legacy caked
in darkness and famine. Instead of intelligently preparing, we find ourselves whittling
away this precious time chasing fraudulent theories. We have a decade to prepare, but
have a misguided sense of direction and urgency.
Climate change is primarily driven by nature. It has been true in the days of my father
and his father and all those that came before us. Because of science, not junk science,
we have slowly uncovered some of the fundamental mysteries of nature. Our Milky
Way galaxy is awash with cosmic rays. These are high speed charged particles that
originate from exploding stars. Because they are charged, their travel is strongly
influenced by magnetic fields. Our sun produces a magnetic field that extends to the
edges of our solar system.
This field deflects many of the cosmic rays away from Earth. But when the sun goes
quiet (minimal sunspots), this field collapses inward allowing cosmic rays to penetrate
deeper into our solar system. As a result, far greater numbers collide with Earth and
penetrate down into the lower atmosphere where they ionize small particles of moisture
(humidity) forming them into water droplets that become clouds. Low level clouds
reflect sunlight back into space. An increase in Earth's cloud cover produce a global
drop in temperature. These periods of quiet sun are referred to as a Grand Minima.
The Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) and the Dalton Minimum (1790-1830) are
examples.
During a Grand Minima the Earth begins to slowly cool. The start of the planting season
is delayed and in the fall early frost limits the harvest. Earthʼs abundant bounty is put on
hold and starvation takes its ghastly grip. Historian, John D. Post, referred to the last
Grand Minima, the Dalton Minimum, as the “last great subsistence crisis in the Western
world”. With the cold came massive crop failures, food riots, famine and disease.
Several scientists including David Hathaway (NASA), William Livingston & Matthew
Penn (National Solar Observatory), and Khabibullo Abdusamatov (Russian Academy of
Science) have forecasted that the sun may enter a Grand Minima a decade from now in
Solar Cycle 25.
A few scientists including David C. Archibald (Australia) and M. A. Clilverd (Britain) have
warned this might even begin in Solar Cycle 24. We are at the transition into Solar
Cycle 24 and this cycle has already shown itself to be unusually quiet. The number of
spotless days (days without sunspots) during this solar minimum appears to be tracking
3 times the typical number observed during the last century (Solar Cycles 16-23).
There are some that urge North America follow Europeʼs lead. On January 13, 2009,
the European Parliament adopted a regulation dramatically restricting the number of
pesticides allowed. This move is based on the precautionary principle and on junk
science. According to Dr. Colin Ruscoe, chairman of the British Crop Production
Council, "If farmers are forced to stop using certain products, crop yields would halve.
There would be such huge losses in the yields of potatoes, carrots, peas and parsnips
that it would become uneconomical to farm them." Is this the kind of lead we should be
following? Europe is also leading in another area - in its opposition to genetically
modified (GM) crops. In Europe, environmentalist have driven fear into the hearts of
their citizens by labeling GM food as “Frankenfood”.
In our country, we have been using
GM crops for almost two decades without any ill effects. GM crops hold the promise of
helping us survive the next Grand Minima by offering crops that can grow under
extreme weather conditions. North America is currently a leader in this technology.
Should we follow Europeʼs lead and ban GM crops? And in ten years from now when
the next solar cycle begins, if the sun goes quiet, who will comfort the starving children
who cry out in the middle of the night for a small piece of bread? These will be our
children.
So what legacy will we leave behind?
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