CERN Studies Connection Between Cosmic Rays and Climate Change

Layzej writes with this quote from Nature: "For a century, scientists have known that charged particles from space constantly bombard Earth. Known as cosmic rays, the particles are mostly protons blasted out of supernovae. As the protons crash through the planet's atmosphere, they can ionize volatile compounds, causing them to condense into airborne droplets, or aerosols. It is hypothesized that clouds might then build up around the droplets — possibly affecting the Earth's climate. To find out, [Jasper] Kirkby and his team are bringing the atmosphere down to Earth in an experiment called Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets (CLOUD). ... Early results seem to indicate that cosmic rays do cause a change (abstract). The high-energy protons seemed to enhance the production of nanometer-sized particles from the gaseous atmosphere by more than a factor of ten. But, Kirkby adds, those particles are far too small to serve as seeds for clouds."

Comments

There are enough other reasons to reduce carbon

[tp1024]

As you obviously didn't read the piece I wrote, let me quote the second to last paragraph:

There are enough reasons to reduce the use of carbon based fossil fuels. Be it the fundamental scarcity of fossil fuels; the unavoidable environmental damage associated with their use and extraction; or their price that will inexorably rise as the world is industrializing, which will hamper the economies of the industrialized countries unless they reduce their dependence upon them.

There is no reason to desperately hang on to the climate change story, if you are concerned about CO2. Emissions are increasing massively anyway, because people need more energy resources, which leads to scarcities, which in turn lead to stupid wars in Iraq or Libya or wherever. We are in dire need of alternatives anyway.

It's people like you who sacrifice scientific integrity on the altar of the climate church, without doing a thing to help to change those things you don't want to see anymore.

Re:No doubt

[DerekLyons]

Translation: My mind is made up, no scientific evidence need apply and no further study is necessary.
 
Seriously, I find it disturbing as hell that climate change zealots and doomsayers point at scientific evidence to 'prove' their point.... (Of course, we all know that science at this level is about correlation and best fit models, not 'proof'.) But let someone investigate something that may disturb their dogma - and their support of science goes right out the window.