21 spotless days and solar magnetic field still in a funk « Watts Up With That?

What I find most interesting about the Geomagnetic Average Planetary Index graph above is what happened around October 2005. Notice the sharp drop in the magnetic index and the continuance at low levels. Read on for more.

This looks much like a “step function” that I see on GISS surface temperature graphs when a station has been relocated to a cooler measurement environment. In the case of the sun, it appears this indicates that something abruptly “switched off” in the inner workings of the solar dynamo. Note that in the prior months, the magnetic index was ramping up a bit with more activity, then it simply dropped and stayed mostly flat.

Poznan's Bad Timing - Drew Thornley - Planet Gore on National Review Online

It's a simple tradeoff: (1) CO2 emissions from productive economic activity or (2) job losses, falling GDP, and higher costs for producers and consumers. Economic progress or economic downturn. Take your pick, Europe.