Habibullo Abdussamatov, the head of space research at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, recently revealed studies which showed the planet is definitely getting a little warmer. His core focus was on the shrinking of the polar ice caps. He is convinced a long ice age is beginning to end and that temperatures will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

The planet in question is not Earth but Mars. Our nearest neighbour is not alone in terms of temperature rises. Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune’s moon, Triton, have all experienced an increase in temperatures.

“Man-made greenhouse warming has [made a] small contribution [to] the warming on Earth in recent years, but [it] cannot compete with the increase in solar irradiance,” said Abdussamatov in a recent interview. “The considerable heating and cooling on the Earth and on Mars always will be practically parallel.”

What could have caused the temperature increases in so many places at the same time? Higher levels of carbon dioxide generated by increased industrialisation? Gas guzzling SUVs belching out pollution on interplanetary highways? Deforestation?

If none of these above seems appropriate, how about: the sun is going through a cycle in which it is warmer than usual and as a result the solar system is heating up slightly?

Assuming that is the answer for Mars, Jupiter, Triton, Pluto and other parts of the solar system which are getting warmer, why shouldn’t the same factors be the cause of the very slight increase in Earth’s climate during most of the 20th century? How can it be that Earth and Mars are both experiencing the same slight climb in temperatures at the same time and have different causes?

It is true that changes in orbit can also affect planetary temperatures. If just one other place in the solar system was warming up while others places remained the same as before, it would be reasonable to assume the sun is not responsible. But just about every place that has come under recent investigation by space probes and other intense studies have shown the same trend: an increase in temperatures.

It is interesting to note that scientists in America, Russia, Europe and Australia are coming to the same conclusions in the debate on global warming. Given the historic rivalries between these countries/continents, one might expect scientists from one place to criticise findings from foreign scientists even if they had to suppress evidence which agreed with them. The level of agreement is highly encouraging.

Needless to say, those who have staked their careers on global warming being caused by human activity and that it presents an imminent threat to our survival have dismissed the evidence they got things wrong.

“The small measured changes in solar output and variations from one decade to the next are only on the order of a fraction of a percent, and if you do the calculations not even large enough to really provide a detectable signal in the surface temperature record,” claimed Penn State meteorologist Michael Mann.
“The link between solar activity and global warming is just another scapegoat for human-caused warming,”  Mann declared.

“Solar activity continues to be one of the last bastions of contrarians,” said Mann. People who don’t accept the existence of anthropogenic climate change still try to point to solar activity.”

In case you didn’t know, this is the very same Professor Mann who created the notorious “hockey stick” climate graph which has since been discredited as utterly false. Not only did the author compile graphs which were at odds with the facts, but there are very strong reasons to believe this was done intentionally. Data which conflicted with the “findings” of Professor Mann were hidden in a file marked “confidential data”.

Under the circumstances, a full-blooded denunciation from such a perverter of facts is just as good as a ringing endorsement from someone who knows what he’s talking about.