'My Skis Recognize That Climate Change Is Happening'

A number of the media's talking heads have tried to use cold temperatures as evidence of global warming. As strange as that seems, some may have decided on an even more ridiculous "proof" of global warming: poor skiing conditions in Pennsylvania (h/t Ed Driscoll).

Apparently the new measure for global warming is how well one's skis slide across the snow. At least that's what the Times-Leader, a local paper in northern PA, suggested in an article on Saturday.

Reporting on a panel of outdoor recreation officials speaking at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barry, PA, the Times-Leader quoted one cross country skier who said, "my skis recognize that climate change is happening." His skis? Begin the draconian carbon cuts!

"Ed Perry can’t feel the climate warming, but he has noticed one detail over the years that tells him it’s happening – he’s had to switch to unwaxed cross-country skis," the Times-Leader reported. A number of representatives for ski resorts were present at the conference to discuss the lack of snow that has hampered their businesses this year.

"Climate change is going to decimate our industry," said Barbara Green, president of the Blue Mountain Ski Resort. "The models I’m seeing, in 25 years, we may not have any ski areas."

Hmm. Maybe Green should share those models with the proprietors of the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, which, in November, saw 220 inches of snowfall, the most ever recorded in one month. November's snowfall was nearly four times the average for that time of year.

Senior vice president of the resort, near Vancouver, British Columbia, said the record snowfall "sets us up for an unbelievable season." So much for the decimation of the industry.

Or what of Appleton, Wisconsin, where residents enjoyed record snowfalls of 14 inches last week? One resident told a local Fox News outlet, "the 14 inches that we got plus the cold weather is perfect for cross country skiing." Maybe Perry should move to Wisconsin.

The problem with scary climate models is that every aberration in weather patterns is taken as evidence that there is something seriously wrong with the climate, and humans are to blame.

The Times-Leader might have looked into whether this trend was widespread enough to proclaim it an indicator of global temperature trends. And the paper certainly should have thought twice before offering one man's experiences on his cross country skis as proof that "global warming is happening."