“BREAKING NEWS – CERN Experiment Confirms Cosmic Rays Influence Cloud Seeds” (2011-08-24). Anthony Watts tells the world that a cosmic ray experiment at CERN (“CLOUD“) proves that global warming is all because of cosmic rays! Thus ending global warming once and for all. The AGW theory is “dented”!
Anthony’s analysis consists pasting in a biased interpretation by the Global Warming Policy Foundation’s elderly denialist, and Henrik Svensmark pal, Nigel Calder. Henrik Svensmark is the widely discounted proponent of galactic cosmic rays as the source of all climate change.
Hmmm… Could it be true that “CERN Experiment Confirms Cosmic Rays Influence Climate Change”?
Well, maybe cosmic rays contribute to ionization, but the experiment being hailed by denialists only detected events at scales too small to trigger droplet formation. Sadly, historical climate change patterns also show no correlation at all with cosmic rays. So… maybe not.
Want to read something intelligent on the matter? Try Real Climate’s post “The CERN/CLOUD results are surprisingly interesting…” There’s certainly more to learn from this experiment.
Wott's Up With That? 
I know I should not be surprised, but still I am, to see the slenderest thread of science embraced, nay, trumpeted, by folks who are bitterly anti climate scientists. And I gather that “slenderest thread” is an overstatement.–Regards, Tom Gray, Wind Energy Communications Consultant
Climate is too complex, it’s obvious man cannot yet understand it and we must accurately represent the uncertainty of… OH MY GOD DID YOU SEE THAT PAPER THAT PROVES ONCE AND FOR ALL IT’S ALL NATURAL!
[LOL- Ben]
Could a more cautious Henrik Svensmark have advanced his cosmic ray theory more from behind, on a “maybe if…” basis, and still engendered enough attention to prompt these CERN experiments?
Instead of getting out ahead of his cosmic ray theory, to promote it as a CO2-GW slayer in alignment with the skeptics, before the correlations were nailed down. See Skeptical Science
It’s sad that his real contributions will always be partly overshadowed by his poor aim.
[Ready, fire, aim. – Ben]
You have to read Lawrence Solomon’s take on this. He provides references from the lead scientist who claimed that he belived cosmic rays would account for 50% plus of all warming.
The references were from 1998. The same individual was far more modest in his recent comments.
[You can always count on Lawrence Solomon to get the facts exactly wrong. – Ben]
That’s right, that’s why he has a permanent column on the National Post, becuase he gets his facts exactly wrong.
[Like a stopped clock, you’re right occasionally. The National Post goes put of it’s way to promote denialism – Ben]