Just a couple of years ago some scientists feared we were due for another 'little ice age' because of the prolonged minimum of sunspots. This goes to show you how little we really understand about this. Maybe it (the Little Ice Age) was the result of a 'perfect storm' of volcanic activity + sunspot minimum, although these researches apparently "set solar radiation at a constant level in the climate models."

I like the response to the Thames freezing, they went ice skating. It really seems like a case the more you know the more easily frightened you can become. So few people internalize that the universe is a naturally unpredictable place. A super volcano here, a gamma ray burst there, or even a comet or two taking a dip in the pacific.