So we've been hearing about how the Arctic Ice is at record lows.
PARIS - Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane.
See. That's the good side of Global Warming. Fire up them SUVs. Think of all the shipping time that will save.
The European Space Agency said nearly 200 satellite photos this month taken together showed an ice-free passage along northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland, and ice retreating to its lowest level since such images were first taken in 1978.The waters are exposing unexplored resources, and vessels could trim thousands of miles from Europe to Asia by bypassing the Panama Canal. The seasonal ebb and flow of ice levels has already opened up a slim summer window for ships.
Like I said good news all around. We're not all gonna die.
Environmentalists fear increased maritime traffic and efforts to tap natural resources in the area could one day lead to oil spills and harm regional wildlife.
Those pesky environmentalists always look at the downside.
What is not mentioned in this story is that even though the Arctic is melting, the Antarctic icepack is getting thicker.
While the news focus has been on the lowest ice extent since satellite monitoring began in 1979 for the Arctic, the Southern Hemisphere (Antarctica) has quietly set a new record for most ice extent since 1979.This can be seen on this graphic from this University of Illinois site The Cryosphere Today, which updated snow and ice extent for both hemispheres daily. The Southern Hemispheric areal coverage is the highest in the satellite record, just beating out 1995, 2001, 2005 and 2006. Since 1979, the trend has been up for the total Antarctic ice extent.
See graphics on the linked site.
Stole all these links from here.
Discuss amongst yourselves.
Posted by denny at September 18, 2007 04:29 PMLike I said good news all around. We're not all gonna die.
Sorry Denny, but you're wrong. We are all going to die - Yes, all of us. Always have, always will.
Unless you count Jesus, King Arthur or that pesky Twelfth Imam.
Its the demographic equivalent of urban renewal and term limits.
Posted by: Rurik on September 18, 2007 09:24 PMWarmers simply cannot answer this question:
What makes the temperature RIGHT NOW the way it should be for all time ?
I grew up on an Island formed by Glaciers. The Glaciers are gone, and they left some really valuable real estate. They have been gone for centuries... well before the emergence of the SUV.
What caused the Glaciers to recede? Mammoth Farts ?
If the Arctic ice is melting enough to open shipping lanes, how come I, 10 miles in from the coast in sunny South Florida, don't have ocean front property yet? WTF. I thought for sure, Cubans in their Chevy boats would be landing in my front yard, er beach, by now. The Gore-acle can't be wrong...
Posted by: Steve on September 18, 2007 09:40 PMGore-acle == ManBearPig.
One of the best Southpark episodes ever.
Posted by: Bill on September 18, 2007 09:43 PMSteve - Floating ice melting doesn't raise sea level. It has to be land ice melting into the sea.
Posted by: Denny on September 18, 2007 11:04 PMI'll confess to wondering the same thing Steve did........thanks for the physics lesson Den. super great post by the way....don't know if anyone else watched that History Channel show "Ice Road Truckers".....I was like a moth to a flame... at any rate, they set a record this year for how much freight they took over that thick ice...yet another algore conundrum.
Posted by: patrick on September 18, 2007 11:40 PMSince the Antarctic ice is thickening and since the Antarctic holds 90% of the world's ice, I think we can put the worry about "rising sea levels" to rest.
By the way, a warming proponent mentioned that warming "theory" states that the Antarctic ice should be thickening (warmer water = more evaporation=more snow.)
The thickening ice at the Antarctic explains all the strange weather as well..... as the Artic shrinks and the Antarctic gets heavier the Earth tilts....changing climate say no more.
Posted by: DaveH on September 19, 2007 05:09 AMAh-hah! Dave's on to something here... The thickening ice at the Antarctic makes the bottom of the Earth heavier. That means it will pull downward more and straighten out the tilt that gives us our varying seasons. Without the tilt, the Earth will warm up inexorably.
WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!
Saw a story about this last week. They reported that the Northwest Passage was going to open earlier than the global warming model predicted.
They did also note that the passage has not been open since 1908
So why did it open in the late 1800, early 1900s? Al Gore shold know it was before Ford built so many cars.
Truth is the whole solar system is getting hotter because the Sun is just a little bit more active. It does that. In fact, the Earth seems to be warming LESS than some of the other planets and their moons. Maybe man is helping to cool the Earth?
Posted by: Jim Macklin on September 19, 2007 07:58 AMSO, what exactly is Antartica? Is it a huge floating block of ice? a block of ice that goes all the way to the bottom? A land mass with ice surrounding it? I hate to admit, I never paid much attention. Assuming for a moment that its a land mass covered in ice, How long ago did the first permanent ice form there? And where was all that water before it turned into Antartic ice?
Posted by: Jeremy on September 19, 2007 10:22 AMJeremy - The Antarctic is a land mass covered with ice.
Posted by: Denny on September 19, 2007 11:24 AMand Jeremy, by my calculations the first permanent ice on Antartica formed 27 years ago........give or take a million or so years. ;-)
Posted by: patrick on September 19, 2007 12:46 PMAhh the Man Bear Pig rears his ugly head once again! Brilliant! Love the Ice Road Truckers show!
Caution: Debate point up ahead...Polar bears are dwindling? Maybe because the ice is thicker the cute fuzzy blood thirsty mama bears can't crash the ice as easily. Making it less likely to kill the cute seal pups with their razor sharp claws and gnashing teeth to sustain the life of their cute fuzzy wuzzy polar bear cubs for the gruesome cold winter. PETA people need to watch animal planet and get a farging clue, before they go and kill a poor plant and fry some tofu. Good Gravy. Can we go back to aerosol cans now? I miss the flourocarbon days and frying spiders from a distance.