Don’t blame the sun

Research unveiled last week by British and Swiss scientists concludes the sun’s varying energy levels are not responsible for recent global warming.

Mike Lockwood and Claus Froelich of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the World Radiation Centre, respectively, studied the variations in total solar irradiance and cosmic rays, among other factors that could be responsible for climate change.

The researchers determined global temperatures could not be attributed to the sun’s variability. Their study is heralded by Britain’s Royal Society, and adds to mounting evidence that climate change likely is manmade. Records on average world temperatures began in the 1860s. The 10 warmest years since that time have occurred after 1990.