Arctic Ice Isn’t Going Away. Sorry.

Another claim by the increasingly hysterical AGW crowd is being disproved. Oops. (Graphs supplied in the article.)

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado released an alarming graph on August 11, showing that Arctic ice was rapidly disappearing, back towards last year’s record minimum. Their data shows Arctic sea ice extent only 10 per cent greater than this date in 2007, and the second lowest on record. Here’s a smaller version of the graph:
Arctic ice not disappearing

The problem is that this graph does not appear to be correct. Other data sources show Arctic ice having made a nice recovery this summer. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center data shows 2008 ice nearly identical to 2002, 2005 and 2006. Maps of Arctic ice extent are readily available from several sources, including the University of Illinois, which keeps a daily archive for the last 30 years. A comparison of these maps (derived from NSIDC data) below shows that Arctic ice extent was 30 per cent greater on August 11, 2008 than it was on the August 12, 2007. (2008 is a leap year, so the dates are offset by one.)

There are things called seasons, even in the arctic. Seasons change. Climate change is a reality, but human beings have little to do with it. At least, that has never been proved conclusively. Objective proof seems to suggest otherwise. Nature is consistent and never has been.

So why do we keep hearing the ice is going away? I’ll bet you’ll never guess.

The Arctic did not experience the meltdowns forecast by NSIDC and the Norwegian Polar Year Secretariat. It didn’t even come close. Additionally, some current graphs and press releases from NSIDC seem less than conservative. There appears to be a consistent pattern of overstatement related to Arctic ice loss

Gee, politics wouldn’t have something to do with that, would it?

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