I must say from the outset that I believe not one iota of the ridiculous hysteria being thrust upon us by the global warming kooks, but I admit that the media machine has been more than formidible. It is a well orchestrated movement to achieve what, I do not profess to know, but they are diligent and and determined. Gotta hand it to ‘em on that count, at least.
- “This is where a culture has lived for 5,000 years, relying on a very delicate, interconnected ecosystem and, one by one, small pegs of that ecosystem are being pulled out,” Steger said by satellite phone from a small village outside Iqaluit, about 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Iqaluit is the provincial capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
So, I decided to check:
Now, I know how to read a mileage legend on a map, and it certainly looks to me like Iqaluit is double the distance from the Arctic Circle than the 200 miles the author cited. Why would the author lie about it, I asked, before I double checked and realized that they said “about 200 miles” south of the Arctic Circle. No foul, no penalty, as long as you’re on the right side of semantics, I guess. OK, let’s keep going, shall we? Goody.
Here’s another excerpt:
- “When he was interviewed in early March, he and his American and Inuit colleagues were heading for the Clyde River, through the highest polar bear population in the world. It was still the height of winter in the Arctic, but the temperature, 11 degrees Fahrenheit, was more typical of spring.”
OK, here my first thought was to wonder if the sub-arctic melted at a lower temperature simply because it was so accustomed to being much colder, but then simple physics kicked in and I realized I was dreaming, so I did some more digging. And to think I hated homework thirty five years ago! From the website seeking people wishing to re-locate to Iqaluit (you know who you are), I found this:
- The Capital of Nunavut is Iqaluit is the largest community in Nunavut. Iqaluit received it’s Order of Official Status as a City in 2001. It has a population of about 6000 and is located approximately 2,000 kilometres from Ottawa. The mean temperature in January is -30°C and in July is 15°C. Iqaluit experiences 24 hours of daylight per day in June, and six hours per day in December.
For those of you who still hate homework, that’s -22F in January and +59F in June, so I had to ask…is +11F in March so bad? (And take special note of the mixture of American Standards of Measure and European Standards. The author uses them selectively to acheive the desired effect on the reader). I also found this picture of Clyde River from ten years ago. Looks pretty nice and cozy to me:
And yet the article makes it sound as though this has for 5000 years been a frozen wasteland that is now being destroyed by Exxon and Chevrolet, to name a few. Not to mention one last, important detail, (he said with a wink)…
“…were heading for the Clyde River, through the highest polar bear population in the world.“
Wasn’t it Al Gore who was claiming that the loss of ice was endangering the polar bears? If that beautiful scene above is the center of the highest polar bear population in the world, methinks Al Gore doest protest too much.
One thing to remember as this debate goes forward and, as I predict it will, becomes ever increasingly shrill, is to do your own homework when confronted by misleading articles such as this, and not blindly accept what you are fed upon their consumption. There is much we don’t know until we learn and much we don’t see until we look. Don’t rely on others to be your eyes. That is all…
-Woody
