Despite evidence to the contrary, Tuesday's "Good Morning America" continued to hype the idea that there could soon be no Arctic sea ice at the North Pole. Co-host Robin Roberts began a segment on the subject by fretting, "But, can you imagine going to the beach and finding it's not there? Sounds like science fiction."
Referencing a group of scientists who are traveling 600 miles across the Arctic to test ice thickness she added, "Well, a new expedition is under way to find out if this could happen in the not-so-distant future." However, "Good Morning America" has been wrong on this issue in the past. On the June 28, 2008 GMA, weekend anchor Kate Snow introduced a story on polar bears by worrying, "You know, the polar bear has become the iconic face of climate change and this summer scientists are saying the North Pole could be without ice, another symptom of a warming planet." Yet, by the fall of last year, the arctic ice caps had grown by 150,000 square miles (which, while still low, is not the same as disappearing.)
Additionally, Discovery News reported on March 2 of this year that global warming may be on hold. On the Discovery Channel website, Michael Reilly wrote, "Earth's climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat."
And Bloomberg reporter Alex Morales noted on February 20, 2009 that a satellite glitch had resulted in scientists underestimating the amount of arctic sea ice by 500,000 square kilometers. Yet, ABC's onscreen graphic didn't mention any of this and instead asked, "Explorers Begin North Pole Trek: Is all the Ice Disappearing?"
GMA reporter Nick Watt featured no opposing views and only stated, "Their [Arctic scientists] data might tell us how soon the polar ice could disappear completely." ABC viewers should expect more of this type of reporting, as the correspondent explained that in a few weeks, "Good Morning America" would be joining the expedition and will track the progress of the scientists investigating the level of sea ice.
The ABC morning show has developed quite a reputation for global warming alarmism. Weatherman Sam Champion famously hosted a segment on January 31, 2007 that featured a hyperbolic graphic which screamed, "Will Billions Die from Global Warming? New Details on Thirst and Hunger."
A transcript of the March 3 segment, which aired at 7:37, follows:
ROBIN ROBERTS: But, can you imagine going to the beach and finding it's not there? Sounds like science fiction. Well, a new expedition is under way to find out if this could happen in the not-so-distant future. It's an expedition to the North Pole that will take a look at the ice caps. And our Nick Watt went along for the ride.
NICK WATT: This daring expedition has taken five years of planning and training.
UNIDENTIFIED EXPLORER: Here we are in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. Safely landed.
WATT: The two men and one woman are excited to be on their way.
PEN HADDOW (explorer): We're also very anxious because this is a huge challenge we've set ourselves to do the journey and the surveying on top in the world's most extreme environment.
WATT: They're expecting temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees. They'll have to swim part of the way, where the ice has melted.
ABC GRAPHIC: Explorers Begin North Pole Trek: Is all the Ice Disappearing?
ANN DANIELS (explorer): We will have to deal with potential polar bear attacks, open water, thin ice, moving ridges and, of course, surviving in the terrible temperatures.
WATT: This awesome adventure has a serious purpose. The team will progress this radar 600 miles to the North Pole. Every few inches, it measures the ice thickness. And ten times a day, the team drill through the ice pack, which is melting at an alarming rate. Their data might tell us how soon the polar ice could disappear completely.
HADDOW: Some scientists say this sea ice loss could occur in just four years from now.
WATT: Those polar bears the team are afraid of would lose their natural habitat and global weather patterns would change. This trek will take three months. And in just a few weeks, we'll be joining the team, out there on the ice and bringing you an update from their progress. For "Good Morning America," Nick Watt, ABC News, London.
ROBERTS: My goodness. And we're truly looking forward to Nick Watt reports from out there.
—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Of course there's no ice at
March 3, 2009 - 15:49 ET by dborschjr68Of course there's no ice at the North Pole...it's all here in CT, and in early March, no less!! Global warming, my a$$...grumble grumble.
Long live the Republic! Conservatives unite!
Our relatives swear
March 3, 2009 - 16:29 ET by 10ksnookerYou be wrong, it's all piled in NH.
how much news is news anymore?
March 3, 2009 - 15:55 ET by katainkentmy frustration grows with every day these champions of speculation and adulation are still taking a single dollar of advertising money.
Can we get the e-mails for these idiotic news organizations?
March 3, 2009 - 15:56 ET by Lord ErondCBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, AP, Reuters....
We should blitz them with e-mails calling them a bunch of alarmist liars. Spam the crap out of them.
"What you can not enforce, do not command" -Sophocles-
Arctic exploration team eaten by Polar bears..bears reportedly..
March 3, 2009 - 15:58 ET by Lord Erond..very satisfied except for the greasy taste of environmentalist libs.
That's what you deserve for wasting our money on this garbage.
"What you can not enforce, do not command" -Sophocles-
"But, can you imagine going
March 3, 2009 - 16:01 ET by Chris Norman"But, can you imagine going to the beach and finding it's not there? Sounds like science fiction."
Yes, it sounds very much like imagination and "science fiction", but aren't you supposed to be reporting the facts?
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
When I went to the beach
March 3, 2009 - 16:42 ET by SickofLibsWhen I went to the beach recently, I saw the arm and head of the Statue of Liberty sticking up out of the sand.
Don't You Hate it When facts Get In the Way?
March 3, 2009 - 16:04 ET by dboIsn't it funny how these global warming doomsday shows never seem to talk about the growing ice in the Antarctic?
Hold the phone, Maybelle...
March 3, 2009 - 16:07 ET by jazbo" They're expecting temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees. They'll have to swim part of the way, where the ice has melted."
Wow, are they bipolar? (pun intended) Since when does ice melt at -60?
Media types are soooooooo ignorant.
Those who believe in nothing will believe anything.
Its a dry cold
March 4, 2009 - 08:57 ET by general companyThat how, : ]
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Please, don't let the facts
March 3, 2009 - 16:13 ET by garyganuPlease, don't let the facts get in the way of the ultimate liberal cause.
The fact is that greedy capitalist pigs, bigots, homophobes and misogynists are destroying the planet. The worst part is that the cute inocent polar bears are suffering as a result.
We will all die now unless all capitalists stop being greedy and start to power their industries with technology that hasn't been developed yet. They should stop producing everything and work on this problem immediately. Or else we will all die. It is all their fault.
There should be a law against global warming deniers. They are conspiring to destroy the Earth and kill everything upon it.
The Global Warming Myth Revisited
Polar Bears are cute
March 3, 2009 - 16:25 ET by Lord Erondunless they messily devour you. Maybe I'm thinking of the Coca-Cola Polar Bears. Oh Well.
"What you can not enforce, do not command" -Sophocles-
Information America
March 3, 2009 - 16:27 ET by JDWWhat are GMA's ratings?
JDW
DAILY WAVE
The government works for me, not the other way around
LOL
March 3, 2009 - 16:28 ET by 10ksnookerCan you imagine walking from Alaska to Siberia? Yes, that's how it was when the last glaciation ice age ended about 12,000 years ago. The last ice age occurring in the Pleistocene epoch, began about 110,000 years ago and ended between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago. Sea level went down by about 100 meters, exposing the land bridge bwteen Siberia and Akaska across the Bering Sea.
A little history will do wonders for perspective.
walking across the land bridge in the last Ice Age?
March 3, 2009 - 16:40 ET by SickofLibsHey, Andrea Mitchell did it.
Hey, Andrea Mitchell did it.
March 4, 2009 - 07:30 ET by ThisnThat...so she could meet up with Helen Thomas on the other side.
___________________________________
The challenge is to follow a consistent plan despite inconsistent prices - Sarah Palin, State of the State of Alaska speech
Too Many SUV's In the Holocene Period
March 3, 2009 - 18:25 ET by dboA little history will do wonders for perspective
During the middle Holocene the August sea surface temperature in the Arctic fluctuated by 5°C and was 3-7°C warmer than it is today.
Hanson gets ready to
March 3, 2009 - 16:55 ET by danboHanson gets ready to address the mob. The Gore effect hits again. Shouldn't he be in shorts and T shirt? Or a bathing suit?
Thanks to:
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
Snowstorm
March 3, 2009 - 17:47 ET by NorthCoasterSnowstorm restricts turnout for anti-Global Warming Rally.
HaHaHaHaHaHa!!!!!
ROFLMAO
Only one of the many populations of Polar Bears in a Canadian study lost members, all of the rest added members. so, how are they endangered?
Northcoaster...It is pretty
March 3, 2009 - 22:06 ET by celatorNorthcoaster...It is pretty funny.
They should send Algore and his brainwashed stooges to all the areas of the world where the temp is high--deserts etc. It would start snowing immediately.
The Government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
Dr. Adrian Rogers
The cold hard truth ...
March 3, 2009 - 19:48 ET by metaphorsbwithuReporters won't ask the obvious questions because they know the answers and don't want to kill their stories with facts and evidence that weaken their argument.
Their new purpose is not to illuminate but to promote and obfuscate.
metaphorsbwithu
They could send a film crew
March 3, 2009 - 20:09 ET by RR GOPThey could send a film crew to the Mojave desert, pan around and post the shots as the tragedy that overtook the Arctic.
What the hell are we going to do...drive up to the North Pole and see for ourselves?
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
Like? Limited Disclosur
March 3, 2009 - 20:52 ET by danboLike?
Limited Disclosure: I used to belong to the Sierra Club untill they went crazier. Worse of all, I was bribed by Exxon with free New Orleans Saints glasses with fill ups in the 70's.
"The two men and one woman
March 3, 2009 - 20:39 ET by JAJT"The two men and one woman are excited to be on their way"
please please let it be Katie Couric, Chris Matthews and Keith (or Charles Gibson and Brian williams). i thnk we should all write and express that since we are so concerned that scientist will not be able to fully and accurately report their findings, we need to send the rest of the MSM to the artic.
Palin can give them a passing shout out on their way to the artic.
No Baby Harp Seals?
March 3, 2009 - 20:54 ET by CobraManWhy did the Polar Bear become the iconic symbol for Environmentalism? Whatever happened to the Baby Harp Seal, the darling symbol of years past? Oh, that's right, Polar Bears eat them. It's ironic that the Envronuts picked the wost carnivore species on earth (they are more a scavenger than a hunter, more Jackal than Wolf) as a symbol of the importance of environmentalism. Polar Bears eat anything, including their own young. Polar Bears are scavengers and cannibals. Not a good symbol for the importance of species protection.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities
of Citizens in the several States.
The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus.
The US Supreme Court
~Scavengers and cannibals
March 3, 2009 - 20:59 ET by choselife3xSounds like a perfect symbol for liberals.
Hope and Change= Despair and Socialism
Polar Bears love to eat baby seals
March 3, 2009 - 22:07 ET by PopularTechPolar Bear Kills and Eats A Baby Seal (Video) (2min)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
Haven't these morons heard
March 3, 2009 - 21:12 ET by Mr. KafirHaven't these morons heard of Archimedes Principle? Melting sea ice WILL NOT raise sea level. Isn't the American education system wonderful?
"Israel and Palestine should have their countries taken away from them, put in timeout, until they can prove they can get along." - balboa, ignorant bastard, 3/17/08
Arctic sea ice cannot affect sea level
March 3, 2009 - 21:57 ET by PopularTech"But, can you imagine going to the beach and finding it's not there?"
No, because Arctic sea ice cannot affect sea level. Floating ice already displaces the same amount of water as if it were melted.
"What If All the Ice Melts?" Myths and Realities (Wm. Robert Johnston, B.A. Astronomy, M.S. Physics)
"Arctic Ocean pack ice = 0.01% Fraction of world ice - The melting of floating ice will not change sea level: the mass of this ice is equal to that of the water it displaces (watch the water level in a cup of floating ice cubes as they melt)."
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
Also sand moves with the tides.
March 4, 2009 - 02:43 ET by JWFWhether the water level goes up or down, there will still be a moon and sun to create tides and the sand will wash in to the newly created beach.
Sincerely,
a Veteran of a 1000 psychic wars.
How stupid do they think we are?
March 3, 2009 - 22:04 ET by pbthinkerDoes anyone see anything wrong with this statement?
" WATT: They're expecting temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees. They'll have to swim part of the way, where the ice has melted. "
I want to see that melted ice at minus 60 degrees and I want to see one of these morons try to swim in that water?????
The lying liberal media is going to be relentless in their push for cap and trade to pass congress. They'll have the ignorant fired up and writing their congressmen to pass this so the ice won't melt, at minus 60 degrees.
Election 2008-God's way of showing us that elections count.
Why don't they study the Arctic Volcanoes?
March 3, 2009 - 22:18 ET by PopularTechYou would think that they would study an obvious heat source.
Arctic Volcanoes Found Active at Unprecedented Depths (National Geographic)
Hydrothermal Vents Found in Arctic Ocean (National Geographic)
Hotbed of Volcanic Activity Found Beneath Arctic Ocean (National Geographic)
Scientists Find Northernmost Arctic Hydrothermal Field Venting Water at 570 Degrees F (University Of Washington)
Under Icy Arctic Waters, A Fiery, Unexpected Find (The New York Times)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
The polar bear and the igloo...
March 3, 2009 - 22:55 ET by wyogatorPolar bear says, "I love these igloos...crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside!"
But, seriously, 1/2 million kilometers is a heck of a lot of ice to misplace. Combine that with the "snow day" in Washington, DC for the climate change protest and they are looking sillier and sillier.
But who wants to let a few facts get in the way of a good crisis?
Learn about my daughter's Ugandan home for orphans with AIDS at
www.africaourownhome.org
Fate of a couple of 2007 arctic expeditions....
March 3, 2009 - 23:11 ET by wyogatorFrostbite ends Bancroft-Arnesen trek
By PATRICK CONDON, Associated Press WriterMon Mar 12, 2007 5:28 PM ET
A North Pole expedition meant to bring attention to global warming was called off after one of the explorers got frostbite. The explorers, Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, on Saturday called off what was intended to be a 530-mile trek across the Arctic Ocean after Arnesen suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment....
... Then there was the cold — quite a bit colder, Atwood said, then Bancroft and Arnesen had expected. One night they measured the temperature inside their tent at 58 degrees below zero, and outside temperatures were exceeding 100 below zero at times, Atwood said.
British Yachtsman Who Counted On Global Warming to Cross Arctic Now Trapped by Ice
By P.J. Gladnick | September 4, 2007 - 08:00 ET
" In one of the most hilarious cases of being tripped up by dubious scientific hype, British yachtsman Adrian Flanagan attempted to be the first to sail across the arctic north of Russia. He based his hope on the fact that he believed in the Global Warming propaganda that the arctic is rapidly losing its ice thus making his trip possible. One little problem. Cold cruel reality has crushed the Global Warming hype and now Flanagan's boat is trapped by ice in the arctic. To add to the irony, Flanagan who seems to be destined to go down in history as Wrong Way Flanagan, is now pleading with Russian authorities to provide him with the services of a nuclear powered icebreaker to get him out of his embarrassing situation."
You just can't make this stuff up:)
Learn about my daughter's Ugandan home for orphans with AIDS at
www.africaourownhome.org
A couple more failed Arctic Expeditions
March 3, 2009 - 23:16 ET by PopularTechArctic Sea Ice Traps Climate Tour Icebreaker (Watts Up With That, May 5, 2008)
AGW activists stuck in Arctic ice (The Reference Frame, September 3, 2008)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
Hey Pop Tech
March 3, 2009 - 23:30 ET by AnotherFedUpOneI wrote the TV station we talked about.....and quoted you on the links you sent.....kinda disappointed I havent heard a word back from the fine folks......I didnt even swear, and was respectfull, even quoted the commercials they use telling how they "Check the Facts" and all......not sure where I went wrong........maybe they are getting through the mail and I will get a response soon!
Gosh I do hope so, and when (if) I do, I will surely pass it on!
There is a good chance you will hear nothing
March 3, 2009 - 23:33 ET by PopularTechUnless it is a Conservative station they usually ignore the facts.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is Not Pollution
preconsive
March 4, 2009 - 09:44 ET by acadia1755Of course they will find the ice getting thinner.. After Six Months of Winter the Sun will start to rise.. Something we call Spring and soon follow by Summer. The Sun will warm the Arctic and Ice will start to melt.The reports will be? "the ice is Melting at an Unprecedented rate" especially in July and August or till the sun start to dip back behind the Horizon and the Ice start to freeze again. Of Course the Melting will be Anthropogenic and the Freezing will be an Anomaly. Then these "Scientists"will move to Antarctica and start the Cycle again. See How easy it was to come up with the results and it did not cost a Penny. :-)
http://news.yahoo.co...
http://www.friendsof...
Speaking of pennies...
March 4, 2009 - 10:50 ET by Pilgrim1949If we were to offer a penny for their thoughts...
...we'd never have to pay up!
I'd be tempted to posit that they always hear echos on whatever phones they use because of the emptiness between their ears, but then sound can't travel in a vacuum.
At least now we know the answer to the question musically posed in Camelot: What do the simply folk do?
They become MSM well-coifed and made-up news-teleprompter-readers (as opposed to true journalists).