Straws in a cold wind

Nobody knows where global temperatures will go over the next thirty years. Frankly I prefer warming. Yes we’d get a new deluge of lies about CO2, but I’d go for it given a choice. I'm used to the lies.

However, my guess is that many of those interested in climate change are more worried about cooling than warming. The focus of anxiety has shifted even among many former believers because the world is not warming and little hints of cooling just keep mounting up, particularly from the sun. There have been numerous reports of imminent cooling over the past few years.

For example here, here, here, here, here and here. Straws in the wind maybe, but easy to find and they just keep coming.

• The sun is much less active with respect to sunspots. 
• Global temperatures have been static so far this century. 
• The Arctic is not melting as predicted. 
• Sea level rises seem to have slowed. 

So what is the best response?

• Do northerners move south? 
• Or is it better to emigrate to somewhere warmer? 
• Or downsize to a house with small, easily heated rooms? 
• Buy a 4x4? 
• Buy a multi-fuel burner? 
• With plenty of solid fuel storage space? 
• Think about winter food supplies in case of disruption? 
• Don’t live on a steep hill? 
• Rent rather than buy to stay mobile? 

Okay, but at what point does global cooling become a good bet? At what point do we actually do something? Because that’s what it amounts to. If we enter a phase of significant global cooling, then those who placed their cooling bets early and successfully will be better off than those who left it too late. If it happens, cooling may not be severe enough to warrant doing much about anyway – but that’s a bet too.

The great unknown of course is the climate itself – what clues we should watch for, how they change the odds, when to lay your bet or just sit tight and hope for the best. Those who claim to know the answer are all liars. Currently it's just a bet with unknown odds.

So the bet is  down to you – it always was.