"The Sun is the primary forcing
of Earth’s climate system.
Sunlight warms our world.
Sunlight drives atmospheric
and oceanic circulation patterns.
Sunlight powers the process
of photosynthesis that plants
need to grow.
Sunlight causes convection
which carries warmth
and water vapor
up into the sky
where clouds form
and bring rain.
In short, the Sun drives
almost every aspect of
our world’s climate system
and makes possible life
as we know it.
Earth’s orbit around
and orientation toward
the Sun change over
spans of many thousands
of years.
In turn, these changing
“orbital mechanics”
force climate to change
because they change
where and how much
sunlight reaches Earth.
Thus, changing Earth’s
exposure to sunlight
forces climate to change.
According to scientists’
models of Earth’s orbit
and orientation toward
the Sun indicate
that our world
should be just beginning
to enter a new period
of cooling — perhaps
the next ice age ... "
2010 source:
Below is the same page in 2011:
