The Sun is a fiery mass of colliding particles. We still know very little about what it is. Could it possibly be the output of the sun fluctuates, like our weather, from one extreme to another. From hot durations to cold durations and back again. I think global warming is the result of higher amounts of solar energy being released from the Sun; that's why it's getting hotter here. I believe the question is important to all people on planet Earth, par excellence; is humanity, namely our consumption of fossil fuels, the cause of our predicament?
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1$\begingroup$ What you say sounds logical but it's not true and this has been explained many times. Here's one from the Washington Post: washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/23/… Also, we know a LOT about what the sun is and how much heat it gives off. There are satellites that record solar output specifically. I could explain if you like, but this answer is easily researched. $\endgroup$– userLTKCommented Feb 8, 2016 at 4:34
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$\begingroup$ What is not sure (to say the least) is if the political statement that the best thing to do about it is to abolish most industry, transport, electricity and agriculture and hence kill billions of human beings, abolish all space programs and generally return to the medieval ages. Maybe adapting to a slowly increasing temperature would be very much better option? Especially since we always have done that most successfully and climate could change naturally too anyway. $\endgroup$– LocalFluffCommented Feb 8, 2016 at 5:23
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2$\begingroup$ @LocalFluff That's laying it on a bit thick. One thing you implied is true, that an honest benefit to cost analysis is always relevant, but with something this large, research into both alternative energy and climate forcasts is essential, even people who don't think the rate of warming is dangerous should be able to agree with that. Two degrees c of warming globally over a century is huge and geologically speaking, Earth is warming very rapidly now and the evidence backing that up is science, not politics. Unfortunately, it's hard to say that without responses getting political. $\endgroup$– userLTKCommented Feb 8, 2016 at 8:10
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$\begingroup$ We are not 100% certain of anything, however basic solar output has been recorded since pre-industrial times. Records go even further back if you include dendrochronology, for example. I'd suggest researching into this if you're actually interested. $\endgroup$– AndyCommented Feb 8, 2016 at 9:10
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$\begingroup$ @userLTK Climate researchers and politicians have themselves to blame for lacking credibility. They never distance themselves from the fanatic environmentalists who openly claim that "too many humans are alive"! A climate researcher who does not emphatically distance him/herself from environmentalists and from their anti-scientific genocidal economic politics, is of course automatically taken as one of them. Politicians use the propaganda trick to hide behind "science" when they brutally stop all criticism against or debate about their catastrophic economic policies. $\endgroup$– LocalFluffCommented Feb 8, 2016 at 12:45
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We know a lot about the sun. It isn't the main cause of global warming, as we can monitor exactly how much energy it is producing. The sun's output can fluctuate though, and we have yet to measure how badly this affects the climate.
So what is the main cause of global warming?
The main cause of global warming is emissions of C02 (carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere. C02 is odorless, colourless and non-toxic, however, it is the main cause of global warming. C02 is a greenhouse gas and can stay in our atmosphere for about 20 years.
C02 causes something called the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the idea that long wave energy which is meant to go back to space, doesn't go back to space, and is instead captured by greenhouse gases such as C02. This causes lots of heat that should go off into space to be trapped inside the earth's atmosphere causing your temperature to rise.
Are there any other greenhouse gases?
Other greenhouse gases do exist, carbon dioxide is just the main one that causes the global warming. Other greenhouse gases include water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone.
Does global warming happen only on Earth?
Global warming happens all over the solar system, planets like venus have many greenhouses gases in their atmosphere too, infact, on venus greenhouse gases alone make the planet 465 degrees celsius hot, which is way over the boiling point of water - 100 degrees celsius.
Do I disagree?
Yes, as there is too little evidence to prove that the sun fluctuates enough energy to gradually increase our climate dramatically, and we have also proven the effects of greenhouse gases in a planets atmosphere.
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$\begingroup$ Water vapor is kind of an interesting contributor because it acts as an amplifier for the greenhouse effects of other gases. A little more methane--> a little more heat. A little more heat --> some more water vapor --> some more heat. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 17:57
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$\begingroup$ Thank you Daniel Cann! I just want to know if alterations in the way we consume fossil fuels can be done to remedy our problem of global warming; I'm not a global warming denier, but I can bring into question its causes. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 8, 2016 at 21:46
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$\begingroup$ The effect of the Sun which is seriously discussed is not the insolation, but Solar activities' effect on Earth's magnetic field and hence on the amount of cosmic radiation that reaches the atmosphere and initiate cloud formation. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 9, 2016 at 10:16
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$\begingroup$ @MichaelLee Fossil fuels always produce greenhouse gases if we burn them, so what we are looking for now is ways to produce renewable energy (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy), I'm glad you liked my answer! I am especially interested in planets and moons. $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 9, 2016 at 16:14