[Entrepreneur]

True, but SC24 should be well under way by election day. If not, then that could be interesting. Lack of sunspots has nothing to do with climate as amply demonstrated every 11 years or so. But a stretched out cycle and a long term lack of sunspots could get interesting. However, there's not a lot of science yet to explain that cause and effect.

Here's a brief explanation of the cause and effect... What If It Gets Colder?

However, even if temperatures are plummeting around election time, Hansen and Gavin's data will somehow show 2008 to be one of the ten hottest on record.

Caption: GISS Researchers Have No Trouble Explaining How Their Temperature Measurements Differed Dramatically From RSS, UAH, and even Hadley.

[palmer]

Sorry, that’s not even close to an explanation. There’s no sign of an 11 year cycle in temperatures, so sunspot numbers are not it. But the length of the cycle seems to affect climate, possibly through weather effects like changes in the jet stream. The mechanisms in sun and the effects on earth are poorly understood. Also the sun is almost unpredictable with the possible exception that SC25 (in the 2020’s) could be very low, stretched out and result in colder temperatures. In short, there’s no a lot to hang a hat on and the catastrophists would point to a bunch of sunspots and warmer temperatures with “you were wrong, therefore we are right”. I personally choose to ignore these predictions and concentrate on economic growth for whatever catastrophe comes along (e.g. asteroid impact).