Speculative Fact #301: Will Missing Sunspots Affect Climate?

The dark spots on the Sun (known as sunspots) change in number over a fairly predictable eleven year cycle.
However, in a ninety year (1460-1550) period known as the “Spörer Minimum,” the Earth experienced a curious cooling that might have strongly correlated with low solar activity. Even more alarming, the Earth also experienced significant cooling during a later “Maunder Minimum” period (1645 – 1715) where astronomers noticed a surprising absence of sunspots.
            Given the current climate, tales concerning global warming might be a popular door for a PA survival story – but what about a situation involving global cooling? What if the Sun experienced a century long cold cycle and plunged the Earth into a little Ice Age?

-Jonathan Hernandez