Strangelove wrote:
(but yes, once upon a time it was the scientific consensus that the Earth was facing an impending mini ice age)
I finally got around to doing some reading on that 70's science.
No, it wasn't a consensus. Yes, there were some researchers who hypothesized that we could be seeing an anthropogenic (i.e. caused by human activity) cooling trend due to aerosol particulates. Aerosols are also how volcanic eruptions can cause cooling, btw. It seems that about 10% of published research was pointing to a cooling trend. None of them ever suggested a "mini ice age"
At the same time, other researchers were looking at how anthropogenic greenhouse gases could cause a warming trend. Taking both factors into account, the net effect suggested a warming trend, so by the late 70's all researchers were incorporating these into their models. The warming trend predicted by these models has, so far, been confirmed.
Asking what data it was based on should be your second question.
(your first question should be... what are all the unproven assumptions you are being asked to accept)
You need to understand the data before you can make any assessments.
And doesn't the little data we have indicate the Sun is approaching a cooling trend?
That's a small part of large amount of data we have, and will be included in future models (assuming that further research doesn't find flaws in that particular study)
Recent climate models proven wrong, NASA proclaiming last week that the icecaps are actually increasing, etc...
Localized weather fluctuations don't prove models wrong. If anything, they might show how the models can be improved. They don't come out with new models every year. They modify and improve the models based on all the data available, both previous and new.
So, the original statement that those 70's scientists predicted a mini ice age is a bit misleading. Information gets awfully muddied as it passes through the filter of media, bloggers, lobbyists and facebook feeds. It's no wonder that people are skeptical of science when the info they get is basically a tabloid headline version of the original story.
Like you , Doc, I'm here to help people.