Money quote(s):
"The magic phrase ‘Maunder Minimum’ was used – which suggests that we might be looking at another Little Ice Age. Which, depending on who you ask, either: caused a bunch of wars; made a bunch of wars much worse than they would have been otherwise; or is not to be mentioned in polite company. Personally, I was hoping that we’d avoid this"
This would be a bad thing. Anyone else read Fallen Angel?
"(T)he perfect name for a hypothetical new period of decreased sunspot activity would be the “Gore Minimum.” In terms of irony alone, that would be perfect."