Liberty Reborn

Ok place your bets on this one!

It seems unthinkable, but for the first time in human history, ice is on course to disappear entirely from the North Pole this year.

The disappearance of the Arctic sea ice, making it possible to reach the Pole sailing in a boat through open water, would be one of the most dramatic – and worrying – examples of the impact of global warming on the planet. Scientists say the ice at 90 degrees north may well have melted away by the summer.

“From the viewpoint of science, the North Pole is just another point on the globe, but symbolically it is hugely important. There is supposed to be ice at the North Pole, not open water,” said Mark Serreze of the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Colorado.

If it happens, it raises the prospect of the Arctic nations being able to exploit the valuable oil and mineral deposits below these a bed which have until now been impossible to extract because of the thick sea ice above.

The article claims that scientists are saying that the odds of an ice free north pole during the summer are “greater than 50:50.” That’s what we call, in the scientific community, “wiggle room” in case it does not happen. Of course the article is vague as to exactly what the scientists are claiming will happen which gives even more “wiggle room” on this claim.

Even the picture of the current ice cover of the North Pole shows something that is very peculiar. It show that the multi-year ice sheet does not even cover the North Pole. What it shows is that only the ice formed in the last year does this so a prediction that year to year ice would disappear is not that out of the ordinary and would likely expose the North Pole. It would not be unusual to expect this, but spun properly and without stating all those important facts such as that it was the year to year ice that was melting it definitely could sound very dire.

It should also be noted that many times in the past, the arctic has been vastly ice free – long before man made “Global Warming” was supposed to be happening. Ask the vikings about this - if you can find one.

Scientists cannot even predict whether or not it is going to rain today with enough accuracy to matter most of the time so why give them any credence on predictions a month or two out. I love how the forecast will say “30% chance” of rain when it is currently raining outside. Isn’t that a “100% chance”? Or when they claim “80% chance” with never a drop to be seen.

Their excuse is, “Well we did not say it would definitely happen!”

The question is, if this prediction does not come true will these scientists get another mention next year when they make the same prediction? And if it doesn’t happen next year, will they get another shot at it the year after and so on and so forth in hopes that one year their prediction will actually come true so they can say, “SEE! We were right! We are all doomed!”

And even if it does come true, will anyone dare mention that it was the “single year” ice that melted and that was it?

This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 1:30 am and is filed under J.J. Jackson's Daily Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.