GMA's segment this morning on the big global warming confab in Paris was filled with predictably alarmist rhetoric. But one factoid slipped through the MSM filter that could put a chill on the "it's-all-man's-fault" view of the matter: thousands of years ago, global warming exceeded anything we're currently experiencing. Oh, and did you know the result of global warming is . . . fewer hurricanes? First, the alarmism. Reporting from Paris, ABC weatherman Sam Champion informed us:
- "It's really kind of frightening stuff, the stuff that science fiction books and movies are made of. Melting ice, heat waves and even stronger storms."
- "Global warming is with us, and it's going to be with us for centuries."
- "It is the definitive report on global warming, and it's frightening."
Champion: "They're confirming the warming is very likely man-made. . . More than 90% certainty that man's burning of fossil fuels is heating up our planet."
Added Champion: "One result of global warming -- fewer, but even stronger hurricanes." What? Global warming results in fewer hurricanes? How many charts did the MSM treat us to a year or so ago trying to demonstrate that global warming was responsible for more hurricanes? Is this the global-warming lobby trying to explain away the embarrasssing lack of Atlantic hurricanes this season?
Champion then claimed that "among the shocking conclusions of this report, sea levels could rise nearly two feet, swamping areas world-wide by the end of this century." Champion didn't let viewers know that the report actually gave a range: 7-23 inches. Why did he emphasize only the higher end?
Moreover, as he spoke ABC displayed an animation showing islands sliding into the sea with the graphic "2030" on the screen. So what is it? Seven inches by 2100, or islands disappearing in 23 years?
Wait a second! Some time thousands of years ago, temperatures were increasing faster than they are now? Yes. A little Googling bears that out. Have a look at this government paper on the ice age, which includes this statement:
"About 11,500 years ago . . . forests quickly regained the ground that they had lost to cold and aridity. Ice sheets again began melting, though because of their size they took about two thousand more years to disappear completely. The Earth entered several thousand years of conditions warmer and moister than today; the Saharan and Arabian deserts almost completely disappeared under a vegetation cover, and in the northern latitudes forests grew slightly closer to the poles than they do at present. This phase, known as the 'Holocene optimum' occurred between about 9,000 and 5,000 years ago."
Perhaps even more signicantly, the paper paints a picture of mammoth climate changes going back hundreds of thousands of years, repeated cycles of heating and cooling that as recently as 18,000 years ago - a blink in geological terms - had my hometown of Ithaca, NY covered under a huge sheet of ice. Something melted it since then -- and it wasn't man's doing.
We can joke about the Pharoahs' SUVs, but it is obvious that man had no impact on those epochal changes. Is the man's-to-blame movement of today good science, or hubris about the ability of man to influence events?Pet Peeve: Is their any cheaper shot than the MSMs tendency to show footage, as GMA did here, of the calving of glaciers? While used to suggest dramatic global warming, calving is a phenomenon that has occurred since time immemorial. It's what happens when glaciers reach the sea. In fact, as per this Harvard report, calving occurs when glaciers . . . grow, not shrink!
Mark lives in Ithaca, NY, where the temperature is not forecast to get above freezing any time in the next ten days. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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Comments Policy
"Global warming is with
February 2, 2007 - 10:54 ET by mikej"Global warming is with us, and it's going to be with us for centuries."
But I thought that global warming was going to kill us all within the next few years??
But I thought that global w
February 2, 2007 - 13:53 ET by Tom1969caYes, once we're all dead and can't drive SUVs, things will go back to normal!
~~~
VOTE DEMOCRAT!
(It's easier than thinking)
Global Warming
February 2, 2007 - 10:55 ET by iveseenitallGlobal Warming = politics,power, control, money (yours to them).
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
"It's really kind of frighten
February 2, 2007 - 10:59 ET by gfrrman"It's really kind of frightening stuff, the stuff that science fiction books and movies are made of. " I believe THAT about covers all this nonsense
"It's really kind of frighten
February 2, 2007 - 11:00 ET by gfrrman"It's really kind of frightening stuff, the stuff that science fiction books and movies are made of. " I believe THAT about covers all this nonsense
King Tut's Hummer? :-^)The
February 2, 2007 - 11:11 ET by Dave RKing Tut's Hummer? :-^)
The MSM's coverage of GW has now crossed over into the hysterical. Fewer but even stronger hurricanes? Why can't they make up their minds? I guess they are making sure they cover all the bases, so no matter what happens, it can be blamed on GW.
About the only things Champion said that I agree with is the science fiction reference and the fact that GW will be with us for centuries. Well, no joke, Champion, as it has been with us for centuries. Which, by the way, is far longer than we have been burning fossil fuels.
I guess this Champion guy is just the sort of weather guy that weather nazi over at TWC would approve of.
I also have to ask: will the
February 3, 2007 - 23:11 ET by MikeBI also have to ask: will the hurricanes actually be stronger, or just cause more damage because so many fools build homes and businesses in hurricane-prone areas?
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
this crap is on par with elem
February 2, 2007 - 11:16 ET by pmohbuckthis crap is on par with elementary school teachers in the 70s telling us we faced nuclear annihilation by the soviet union ... scared the crap out of us.
once 2030 rolls around and we're all not living on rafts ... i'm going to look for mr. champion ... if he's not already in hiding ;)
"at some point people need to realize that there is more to being an american than just exercising his/her rights" - me
fear
February 2, 2007 - 11:25 ET by iveseenitallI had a friend who was preaching this environmental collapse garbage 35 years ago. As I sit here enjoying the Florida sunshine, I so vividly recall him telling everyone, including hundreds of students, how Florida was going to be the first ecological disaster and be "gone in 10 years". Ignorance is bliss.( and fear sells very well these days).
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
I'd be laughing harder if thi
February 2, 2007 - 11:26 ET by RunningBeerI'd be laughing harder if this hysteria wasn't so frightening. Between the amount of money these alarmists want to waste and the impact to worldwide economic growth from blaming man, the consequences will be huge. Future generations will look back and think we were a bunch of idiots. We need be sure and hold feet to the fire (if you will) for all these so called scientists and media experts when their dire predictions fail to materialize.
Sounds a bit harsh
February 2, 2007 - 12:22 ET by SportPoliticsSounds a bit harsh, holding their feet to the fire. But I have been thinking about Global Warming Survivor, the series.
Some sturdy dem/msm newser director chairs, straps, and a set of abortion forceps to crank and hold their mouths open. A congenial British type master of ceremonies, and various global warming fact checking challenges for the competition. Show their latest goonball clip, and use the multiple errors as the "score and punishment" ensues.
A large chart with the hockey stick lie exposed,for instance,explained,then crumpled into a wad and crammed into the mouth of wacko #1. ( eat my words challenge )
The artic research team checks an icerberg ( in the middle of that summer ) and reports that if it has receded as predicted by contestant #2 in six months, all is well. Cut to the scene with contestant #2 freezing their yak off on the now much more gigantic pile of ice,with the research team standing by parka bundled and comfy. (It's all melting challenge)
Etc.
I think that would be a big hit, and very educational.
Fantastic idea. Can I be th
February 2, 2007 - 12:34 ET by RunningBeerFantastic idea. Can I be the emcee?
King Tut's Hummer
February 2, 2007 - 11:24 ET by HerkGet and read Michael Chrichton's State of Fear. It is great novel exposing the junk science of global warming, and the lengths the "believers" are willing to go to get the world to believe it's true. When finished, pass it on to someone.
Libs will milk this till just
February 2, 2007 - 11:36 ET by MivvisLibs will milk this till just before the 08 election when a magical new report will say the "new" dems in congress have magically reduced the global warming threat. It's ALL a SHAM
Another Great Read...
February 2, 2007 - 12:18 ET by NNNortonGot it yesterday and am into it right now.
Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1500 Years, by Dennis T. Avery and S. Fred Singer
http://www.amazon.com/Unstoppable-Global-Warming-Every-Years/dp/0742551172/sr=8-1/qid=1170388412/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0378109-7348731?ie=UTF8&s=books
Dr. Singer is a Distinguished Research Professor at George Mason University and Professor Emeritus of environmental science at the University of Virginia. Gee, do we listen to him or a politician who almost flunked out of college?
Singer is extremely knowledga
February 2, 2007 - 12:40 ET by RunningBeerSinger is extremely knowledgable on climate change but the fanatics (along with the media) immediately accuse him of being in Exxons pocket since he used to consult for them many years ago. Every lib blogger I've ever read accpets this accusation as fact. But weren't Singer and Avery great on Hannity & Colmes the other night?
All the complaining on poor l
February 2, 2007 - 14:03 ET by danboAll the complaining on poor lying Singer. You may appreciate this rather lerngthy piece he wrote.
The Revelle-Gore Story
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
This whole man made global wa
February 2, 2007 - 11:49 ET by bassndudeThis whole man made global warming thing is a farce. Only an idiot would think man could alter the climate of an entire solar system. And this warming seems to be just that. The entire solar system show symptoms of warming. I read earlier today, cant remember where, that the joint "UN - Paris Global Warming Consensus Accords" sayes that even if we removed the greenhouse gasses today, the warming would go on for another thousand years. Now just how convenient is that? By then they will not even half to admit they made the whole man made thing up! I mean, *********$%&! Who, with half a brain, believes this stuff??! Are all these people really this stupid?
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
Thousands? How about just a
February 2, 2007 - 11:49 ET by dscottThousands? How about just a thousand years ago with the Medieval Optimum? Ocean levels were 18 inches higher than they are now. If climate change proceeds according to it's historical course, by 2100 or so we just might reach the average Global Temperature of the Medieval Optimum and it's corresponding Ocean Level. But then again, if solar cycle 24 turns out to be anemic, then we are looking at a repeat of the 1970's cooler weather. If cycle 25 is also anemic as predicted, then we are looking at a Little Ice Age, which means ocean levels will drop. In fact, there are already studies showing a millimeter drop in the Artic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
All this screeching by the MSM means the entire GW theory of man's fault is about to go belly up. They always screech the loudest just before the end.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius
dscott...As bad as I would ha
February 2, 2007 - 11:56 ET by bassndudedscott...As bad as I would hate to see cooling and the starting of an ice age, or snow for that matter, I would like to see a little cooling. Just to put these UN and Paris nail biters in their place. Im really in favor of the continued warming trend.
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
Great job, Mark! Your pet p
February 2, 2007 - 11:52 ET by steviep831Great job, Mark! Your pet peeve is one of my personal pet peeves as well. I don't know how we are going to get these radical environmental extremist to get a clue other than to keep hammering it to them day in and day out. This may come down to who has more stamina in the long run. The people pushing man-made global warming are complete loons. We have an uphill battle ahead of us...
You can't reason with crazy.
King Tuts SUV
February 2, 2007 - 11:56 ET by blackrain4xmasOMG you guys...that was the funniest line I've seen since...well since I saw those pics of Brian Williams talking about global warming, freezing cows, and global warming, etc.
TOO FUNNY!!!!
Warming
February 2, 2007 - 12:02 ET by iveseenitallThousands of years ago there was global warming. It was caused by cow farts, just as it is today. Kill the cows, cure the environment.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
IT IS FEBRUARY
February 2, 2007 - 12:12 ET by blackrain4xmasHERE IN NORTHERN OHIO....
I WANT MY GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!!!
"It was caused by cow fa
February 2, 2007 - 14:06 ET by MassConservative"It was caused by cow farts, just as it is today".
The comedian Ron White had a great bit on this. He was talking about one of his buddies who moved to California from Texas and became a left-wing, vegan nutjob. His friend used to lecture him that he became a vegan because the raising of cattle was causing environmental harm because of the 'dangers' of cow flatulance. He pressed Ron as to what he was doing to help the environment.
Ron White's response was "I'm eating the cows.....but I am just one man"
I just love stupid comments l
February 2, 2007 - 11:59 ET by Al CzervikI just love stupid comments like this: February 2nd, 2007 "will perhaps be remembered as the day when the question mark was removed from behind the debate on whether climate change had anything to do with human activity on this planet."
Kind of reminds me of: "Everything that can be invented has been invented."
Charles H. Duell, U.S. Commissioner of Patents, in 1899.
I guess since GW is now proven science, there is no need to hand out any further grant money to figure out what is going on.
The day science died
February 2, 2007 - 13:05 ET by UnsaneSo they are saying that 2 February 2007 is the day science died?
"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???." - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)
Consensus on Hurricanes and GW
February 2, 2007 - 12:04 ET by Gary HallHere's a "scientific" concensus statement on Hurricanes and Global Warming., Source: from World Meteorological Organization’s Commission on Atmospheric Sciences, its Tropical Meteorology Research Program Panel. Date: Feb, 2006.
That was just in case in body out there in the media had an interest in science.
Finally, GW Explained Clearly...
February 2, 2007 - 12:12 ET by NNNortonIt's clear to all of us who are not libocrats. But when will the rest of America wake up? PARIS, Jan. 31 — President Jacques Chirac has demanded that the United States sign both the Kyoto climate protocol and a future agreement that will take effect when the Kyoto accord runs out in 2012. But he warned that if the United States did not sign the agreements, a carbon tax across Europe on imports from nations that have not signed the Kyoto treaty could be imposed to try to force compliance. “A carbon tax is inevitable,” Mr. Chirac said. “If it is European, and I believe it will be European, then it will all the same have a certain influence because it means that all the countries that do not accept the minimum obligations will be obliged to pay.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/world/europe/01climate.html?ei=5090&en=718095d16a7c2e7f&ex=1327986000&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print
(via Drudge)
Then we put a tax on all thei
February 2, 2007 - 12:28 ET by danboThen we put a tax on all their products and they pay. And amreican products will be cheaper in comparison.
This is what it's about. Power and money.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
danbo, I love the H.L. Mencke
February 2, 2007 - 12:34 ET by rimskydanbo, I love the H.L. Mencken quote! How true, how true.. thanks
Any time guy."The urge t
February 2, 2007 - 13:56 ET by danboAny time guy.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
Chirac the Kleptocrat
February 2, 2007 - 13:08 ET by UnsaneWhat a joke. Chirac's country is rotting before his eyes and he knows it. So, what is the cure in his view? Why, stealing from the United States early and often. Too bad we have lots of citizens who desperately want to see us turn Third World to accomodate him.
"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???." - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)
A carbon tax on imports, exce
February 2, 2007 - 13:25 ET by dscottA carbon tax on imports, excellent, that means all the Europeans will have to pay more for their goods. Leave it to a Socialist to figure out another rationalization to fleece the public. Every response they make regarding GW is about raping the public or business in some manner to raise taxes. What's even more laughable is that the US has done more to reduce CO2 output per capita than Europe who signed the Kyoto treaty. The Europeans hate this since the US response was not to lower their GDP but to become even more efficient and thus more competitive in the market place. Socialists can never compete on efficiency against Capitalists. The US turned the whole paradigm on it's head.
Please notice that the all the GW supporters insist on a reduction based on a per country use, thus ignoring the per capita consumption. Obviously, if your population drops, your energy consumption drops, that's what the Socialists were hoping for, knowing full well that the US population continued to increase due to it's immigration policies while Europe and Japan were slated for population declines by 2012 which were supposed to match 1990 population levels. Hence, the Europe and Japan without lifting a finger were going to meet their 1990 levels of consumption by 2012, the exact dates which the Kyoto treaty called to meet.
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius
No mmatter what you do. the
February 2, 2007 - 14:10 ET by danboNo mmatter what you do. the CO2 will go up. So then. Well you raise the taxes again. For our own good. And again . And Again.
Untill the people say enough is enough and run the rascles out of town on a rail.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
Mr. Norton, please, it's &quo
February 3, 2007 - 23:17 ET by MikeBMr. Norton, please, it's "libocratics". "Libocrats" is a slur.
"A communist is someone who reads Marx. An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx." Ronald Reagan
This visual comparison of th
February 2, 2007 - 12:24 ET by rimskyThis visual comparison of the Earth to other planets in our Solar System, and also vs other Sun-like spheres that are light-years away from our SS, is very dramatic. IMO, it shows just how incomprehensively vast the Universe is and how ludicrous it is to assume that little 'ole Man could possibly affect ANYthing therein.
New Lawyer Group Sues GOD For "Global Warming"
February 2, 2007 - 12:41 ET by JonQuixoteCome on, you KNEW it would come to this...
A new lawyer's group, Spiritual Lawyers Against Natural Disasters (SLAND), has been formed to initiate international class-action litigation against God for the environmental destruction and global warming that has resulted from acts that He has caused to occur.
In this exclusive interview with JonQuxiote, SLAND lead attorney and Executive Director Peacedove Handwring discloses the primary cause of global warming:
JonQuixote
You know what group constit
February 2, 2007 - 12:41 ET by RotorcraftJOEYou know what group constitutes the winners of global warming......
Trees.
They are really going to bask in the additional CO2 in the air; a breath of fresh air for them. If you ask me, global warming is a right-wing plot...instigated by the trees (and grass) of the world uniting to defeat us (people), they see as terrorists. Perhaps I should seek help from the "9/11 is a US gov't plot" guy to put together a website warning everyone of our impeding doom at the hands(branches?) of plants.
You can add a neat theme song
February 2, 2007 - 14:26 ET by dscottYou can add a neat theme song to the site, Oaks and Maples by Rush
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples
(and they're quite convinced theyre right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade?
There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream `oppression!`
And the oaks, just shake their heads
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
the oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light
Now theres no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw ...
“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius
terrific, dscott
February 2, 2007 - 14:33 ET by tumbler_2007If you go out to the woods today
You'd better go in disguise
If you go out in the woods today
You're in for a big surprise
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there together because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic!
It was postulated long ago,
February 2, 2007 - 14:48 ET by GipperIt was postulated long ago, while the Cold War was still waging and the Soviet Union showed no signs of imminent collapse, that the just then born "environmental movement" would become a bastion of hope for socialists and communists. Read Kyoto and you'll understand the incredible clarity of the postulation.
"Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."
The global warming hysteria h
February 2, 2007 - 15:19 ET by ChrisMatthewsiswackThe global warming hysteria has risen well beyond the level of sarcasm. It is simply stunning that the type of rhetoric the left is employing in the furtherance of this cause.
I realize that as a conservative it’s assumed that I do not have the intellectual capacity to grasp the nuances of the interrelation of "climate" and "whether." But for crying out loud, it recently, snowed, SNOWED here in west Los Angeles and Malibu!!!!!!!!!!!
The claims of the "consensus" of global warming are downright hilarious. "Consensus" eh? That word is employed when people want to push a point of view as fact but the scientific method utterly fails to provide them any support, and even goes so far as to contradict them.
Wasn’t there a "consensus" at one time that the world was flat? If I am not mistaken, that occurred back in the day when the earth was much warmer than it is now.
Which is it?
February 2, 2007 - 18:51 ET by nkviking75Scientists say hurricanes are one mechanism nature uses to release excess heat from the earth. At least, that's what they were saying when global warming was responsible for all the hurricanes in '05. Truth be told, these global warming loonies have no idea what's coming next if their theory is true. Which it isn't.