Many citizens are unfortunately ill-informed about carbon dioxide, global warming and climate change.
Global warming means an increasing annual average temperature for the total Earth. Climate change is a longer term meaning the difference in weather resulting from more (or less) sun heat deposited on Earth compared to the warm Earth energy radiated out to cold space.
Sun heat output is cyclical over about 200 years; it increased to maximum in 1990. Sun heat now decreases to a minimum in another 70 years; the cycle repeats.
Sun heat output is total solar irradiance. As TSI increases, Earth and oceans always warm up first; ocean evaporation may increase carbon dioxide (in air) as recorded in 800,000-year-old Antarctic ice cores.
Ocean carbon dioxide derives from volcanoes/hot-springs in the deep where crustal plates pull apart. One hot spring (of tens of thousands of hot springs) emits more carbon dioxide than a 1,000 megawatt coal-fired power-plant. Only the sun drives global warming, not carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide provides no energy to the Earth enthalpy equation. In 1990, the sun deposited 4,180,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules on Earth/oceans. This is the energy of 1 billion, 1 megaton (of TNT) nuclear explosions.
Habibullo Abdussamatov, who has a doctorate degree in astrophysics, studied the sun/Earth system 50-plus years; he heads solar studies at the Pulkovo Observatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. He also heads Russian solar experiments on the International Space Station.
On Nov. 25, 2013, he published his paper answering President Vladimir Putin’s question about future climate. Abdussamatov essentially told Putin Russia’s northern seaports would soon freeze up in winter. In April 2014, Putin took Crimea plus Sevastopol (warm water port), and will keep them.
TSI, per Abdussamatov, now decreases on the Maunder Sunspot Minimum curve (1645 to 1715 AD), the coldest mini ice age of the Little Ice Age from 1280 to 1830 AD. We’ve entered the 19th mini ice age of the last 7,500 years per Abdussamatov. Carbon dioxide, a trace gas of 400 parts per million, cannot prevent this.
Oceans return heat to the atmosphere for up to 28 years. There is no long-term correlation of carbon dioxide levels in air with Earth temperature. Sunspots go away and TSI decreases. Climate is unstable when sunspots go away, as they do every 11 years. That is why 14 of the last 16 record storms and floods of the Chehalis River (e.g. Dec 3, 2007) occur at sunspot minimums. Sunspots zeroed this year (cycle 24) already; expect another record-exceeding storm/flood this 2018-19 winter.
A carbon dioxide tax/fee isn’t pro-growth. It isn’t revenue neutral. It raises the cost of fuel and raises product prices. Democratic governors like a carbon tax because it gives them money to waste on socialist programs to stay in power. If implemented, it harms gross domestic product and citizens in the coming cold. It’s economic nonsense.
Surely you know better how to spend money you earn than grinning Gov. “Jay-Bob” and his comrades in the “Church of Global Warming.” Why let “The People’s Republic of Washington State” waste your money? It is critical to vote no Nov. 6 on Initiative 1631.
John F. Cramer
Onalaska
