Solar Cataclysm

September 3, 2012
Futurist and science writer Joseph (Apocalypse 2012) describes the fascinating and subtle science underlying his “Moody Sun Hypothesis,” asserting that variations in the Sun’s radiation output have influenced history, climate, birthrates, migration trends, even the stock market (sunspot and solar flare activity cause disturbances in the electromagnetic field that can affect the brain and one’s judgment). Although ancient Babylonians recorded observations of sunspots around 1000 B.C.E., Aristotle’s ideas of “heavenly perfection” led the Church to deny the existence of sunspots until early telescopes proved otherwise. Measurements show that decreases in solar activity coincide with declines in Earth’s temperatures. Joseph discusses evidence for what scientists call the Medieval Warm Period (900–1200 C.E.) and the subsequent “Little Ice Age” (1300–1750), when long winters and damp, chilly summers brought crop failures, famine, and political collapse. After a strong argument that global warming, though largely the result of human activity, is partly due to the Sun’s variability, Joseph looks at biological effects, such as skin cancer and the value of phototherapy (the use of light to treat skin diseases and mental disorders). Joseph’s argument is provocative food for thought for science readers. Agent: Andrew Stuart, the Stuart Agency.