I was very conservative, both religiously and politically, for many years. So I’ve been there, and I know. I will debate creationism, whether Jesus is really coming back or not, the existence of God, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the nature of life everlasting. But I won’t debate this subject, which is why it’s in the pit. I feel sorrow and pity for people who so desperately cling to denial about it. I’ve been there too! But I won’t go back.
Give us a fucking break. You are citing an Op-Ed piece? Calder is a writer, not a scientist; although he was editor of New Scientist that relationship ended in 1966.
Changes in solar irradiance as a cause of warming is addressed in the IPCC report as well as in the Board threads on the subject. See page 18 of the IPCC report for graphs taking into account changes in solar actitivy. Calder’s assertion that the IPCC has ignored this factor is a bald-faced lie.
Speaking of inconvenient facts, [url=]here is a piece from RealClimate that notes the inconvenient facts regarding the cosmic ray hypothesis. Perhaps the most important is that there has been no notable trend in cosmic rays during the last ~35 year when global temperatures have been climbing steadily. There are many other problems too.