Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Breaking News: Ice Melts In Summer

This article is absurd and stupid.

It reports on a study that says Antarctic glaciers are melting faster than expected.

First, it is summer down there right now. Could that be why the ice is melting?

We don't know, this report doesn't once mention what time period the study covers.

Second, the article says it is only glaciers in the western region of the Antarctic that are "melting". Just how big is the region? Are we talking a western region the size of Rhode Island or the size of California?

Then as if to undermine its own argument, the article mentioned (near the end of course) that
Antarctica's average annual temperature has increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.56 degrees Celsius) since 1957, but is still 50 degrees Fahrenheit (45.6 degrees Celsius) below zero, according to a recent study by Eric Steig of the University of Washington.

The article is based on a report from the International Polar Year 2007 - 2009 which is funded by the NSF. This IPY report seems rather alarmist especially when you look at the quote from Steig-UWA report. I mean the average temperature of the Antarctic is 50 degrees BELOW ZERO?

Seriously 50 degrees below zero is 82 degrees below water's freezing point? How much ice can melt in an area that cold?

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