Cloudy outlook for global-warming faithful

It’s not surprising that prominent members of the “me” generation who think the universe revolves around themselves also believe they hold sway over Earth’s climate. New science is dispelling their delusion and confirming that Mother Nature still is in control of the environment. It turns out the sun’s cosmic rays play a commanding role in atmospheric cloud formation and thus surface temperatures. This is according to research in the Aug. 25 edition of the journal Nature by scientists at the prestigious CERN particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. In a CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) experiment, specialists fired a beam of energy from the lab’s Proton Synchrotron accelerator into a chamber filled with gases that approximated the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. As the beam ionized chemicals in the gases, it produced aerosols, which in nature act as seeds for cloud formation. The findings are a strong indication that cosmic rays striking the planet have a similar effect on atmospheric chemicals and stimulate the creation of clouds. It follows that spikes in the intensity of the sun’s cosmic rays stimulate the growth of more cloud seeds, resulting in more widespread cloud cover and a cooling effect at ground level. For dogmatists who believe humans are heating the earth by allowing so-called “greenhouse gases” to billow into the atmosphere, countervailing evidence indicating the sun plays a primary role in climate change is a faith-shaker. This is akin to saying “God is dead” to Al Gore and his fellow believers who insist their junk science is “settled” and no do-overs are allowed...more