That was an interesting article put out by the AP (on global warming, The Madera Tribune, Oct. 27). The obvious conclusion, at least to me, is that there is currently no trend, up or down.

The modern warming trend began about 1850 and, I conclude, is now ending, as predicted by the people that actually study these trends.

The solar constant varies through 11-year cycles. In order to see a trend one must compare complete 11-year cycles. Comparing decades allows one to choose to avoid a peak or a null and adjust the results.

NASA has data on solar output since 1978. Because of all this fuss, they have made it difficult to find these data on the Internet. I found the first 25 years.

Others use tree ring growth to infer insolation (exposure to solar rays), not solar output. These data go back to the age of the oldest living trees. There are other ways to infer insolation and earth surface conditions from the remains of life in deposits, etc.

The people who study these periodic trends are worried about global cooling and glaciation (disaster), not global warming (inconvenience).

Bob Christiansen,
Madera

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