An extraordinary climatic shock—the Great Frost—struck Ireland and the rest of Europe between December 1739 and September 1741, after a decade of relatively mild winters.
Like the Dalton Minimum and Spörer Minimum, the Maunder Minimum coincided with a period of lower-than-average global temperatures.
During one 30-year period within the Maunder Minimum, astronomers observed only about 50 sunspots, as opposed to a more typical 40,000-50,000 spots.
Climatologist John Casey, a former space shuttle engineer and NASA consultant, thinks that last years winter, described by USA Today as "one of the snowiest, coldest, most miserable on record" is going to be a regular occurrence over the coming decades.
Casey asserts that there is mounting evidence that the Earth is getting cooler due to a decline in solar activity. He warns in his latest book, Dark Winter that a major alteration of global climate has already started and that at a minimum it is likely to last 30 years.
Casey predicts food shortages and civil unrest caused by those shortages due largely to governments not preparing for the issues that colder weather will bring. He also predicts that wickedly bitter winter temperatures will see demand for electricity and heating outstrip the supply.
Comment: SOTT has been reporting this for years - though now it's becoming mainstream. Here are just a few of the more recent reports:
The Ice Age is coming, and corrupted scientists continue to lie through their teeth: Stronger winds explain puzzling growth of sea ice in Antarctica
Ice Age cometh: Record return of Arctic ice cap as it grows by 60% in a year; top scientists warn of global cooling
NASA stumped: Summer Arctic ice extent among highest this decade, Antarctica "headed toward record extent"
and read Fire and Ice: The Day After Tomorrow to learn about the reality of the situation.