>> Evidence that makes it essentially certain that naturally >> increasing output of the sun is a or the major contributor >> to global warming. > That last one peaked my interest, but after reading through the > transcript "Hank Spruit" seems to be saying that it's "rather > unlikely" that the sun's output has varied enough to account for > global warning. Did I miss something? I think so. He's a careful scientist who knows that hard declarations of fact are not the scientific way. He knows he can only deal in probabilities. BUT my reading overall is that he is very clearly saying that as far as he is concerned personally it's a done deal - the sun ISN'T the cause of any of the delta heating we are seeing. This was a very important statement to me as I have until now been fairly convinced by the arguments I've seen, with supporting data, that we are actually on the back of a regular cycle whose existence has been carefully or fortuitously suppressed from publicly displayed and discussed data. The "data" that I've seen to support that view seemed reasonably convincing AND I'd never seen it rebutted. Now I hear a man who is dealing in precisely that area specifically rebutting the concept after having specifically studied it. I just looked at the transcript again http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/v443/n7108/nature-2006-09-14.html and I'm convinced that he's careful but convinced. He does caution great care due to political and other issues which tend to confuse matters. Russell -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist