Dr. Patrick Michaels has written an essay for Tech Central Station decrying boneheaded reporting by the mainstream media on the alleged warming of Antarctica. In honor of Earth Day, we were treated to alarmist reports that Antarctic glaciers are shrinking, creating the impression that the ice pack is melting throughout the continent. If true, then the evacuation of New York City can't be far behind.
Of course, it isn't true. The truth is that glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula — which constitutes 2% of the entire land mass of Antarctica — are retreating due to a decades-long warming trend there. But guess what? Averaged across the entire continent, temperatures in Antarctica are falling! Furthermore, on average, the remainder of the ice shelf surrounding the continent is expanding.
At best, it's just another case of ridiculously sloppy generalization. At worst, the MSM is a willing participant in the deception of the public for the benefit of a political agenda. In either case, their reporting is worthy of condemnation.
One last little tidbit from Michaels' essay: The same climate models used to "prove" global warming throughout the planet insist that the entire continent of Antarctica should be going through a rapid warming cycle. All they've succeeded in proving is that these models plus a couple of dollars will get you a cup of coffee at Starbuck's.
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You'd think that every environmental reporter would've read Michael Crichton's new book, "State of Fear," by now. I mean, it's their beat. And he debunks this particular myth in the book. With footnotes.
Before you complain to much about the MSM, you should Google the actual story Michaels is referring to. Contrary to Michaels' rant, you'll see that the story's lead points out that the warming is only local, not continent-wide. It goes on to say this: "The Antarctic peninsula is a small segment of the Antarctic continent, located at the South Pole, and the behavior of the ice on the peninsula is not necessarily a reflection of what's going on elsewhere in Antarctica, said another investigator, David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey." And it also says the study's authors are *not* blaming global warming. Blaming the MSM is all well and good when they're alarmist on this stuff, but they sure don't seem to have been in this case.
Story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9019-2005Apr22.html
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