Sunspots - 2008 lowest number ever except for 1900

There is a direct link between solar activity and visible sunspots. The more sunspots, the more active the sun and the more heat we get from it. This activity totally swamps any minuscule "greenhouse" phenomenon we get from gasses like water vapor, methane and... oh yes... CO2 From Joseph D�Aleo writing at Watts Up With That:

2008 Ends Spotless and with 266 Spotless Days, the #2 Least Active Year Since 1900, Portends Cooling
2008 will be coming to a close with yet another spotless days according to the latest solar image.



This will bring the total number of sunspotless days this month to 28 and for the year to 266, clearly enough to make 2008, the second least active solar year since 1900.

Birds are at the feeders, critters all have hay and I will be driving the tractor to the store to break up the ice. Still, this really sucks. We "normally" get about two weeks of having about six to ten inches of snow on the ground during winter. The long cold spring and now this long cold winter is unusual for this area. Nice for the skiers though so good for business.