Usually I have “Quote of the week, but in this case, the silence says far more than any words the Goreacle might utter.
At least somebody outside of the blogosphere noticed.
From masslive.com where they say:
“Snows of Kilimanjaro defy global warming predictions”
Representatives for Al Gore declined to comment on this article.
Could Al Gore look any dumber over this?
Read the full article here, give the journalist some props.
==================================================================
See also this story Kilimanjaro regaining its snow cap where commenter SonicFrog says:
Anthony… Here is a better article to link to on the subject. And isn’t this a most damning quote?
“Unfortunately, we made the prediction. I wish we hadn’t,” says Douglas R. Hardy, a UMass geoscientist who was among 11 co-authors of the paper in the journal Science that sparked the pessimistic Kilimanjaro forecast. “None of us had much history working on that mountain, and we didn’t understand a lot of the complicated processes on the peak like we do now.”
WHAT?????
“None of us had much history working on that mountain, and we didn’t understand a lot of the complicated processes on the peak like we do now.”
So WHAT THE HELL were you doing publishing and supporting this AS IF IT WAS CERTAIN?????
I wonder if anyone will demand a retraction from Thompson and Hardy?
Yes, I wonder.
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“Could Al Gore look any dumber over this?”
Don’t sell him short.
Why is it that most story on Kilimanjaro still talk about global warming, when the last studies attribute receding glaciers to deforestation? Not even a word on this in the article. Nothing.
REPLY: cuz understanding real science, using big words like “evapotranspiration”, is hard – Anthony
Good article, but it doesn’t mention the role of local deforestation in the decline of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers. Fortunately, at least one of the comments does.
Leopards, take warning!
I’m not so sure this article is quite the dramatically damning piece it seems to be made out to be. The article is saying the original claims were overstated, not that they were completely wrong.
That things can be, and are, over-hyped even in things like science journals is nothing new. Now, if it turned out that instead of merely overstating how quickly the ice would disappear, it turned out that the study prediction was 180 degrees wrong and that the ice was starting to grow, that would be worthy of great and dramatic statements.
That the snow/ice will disappear in 40-60 years instead of the originally predicted 15 years isn’t all that dramatic, at least not to my mind.
I’m annoyed that the article didn’t even touch on the largest reasons for the ice’s shrinking – changes in humidity because of surrounding land uses. It’s not AGW from CO2 that’s causing the change, but the changes in the local air moisture levels from all the farming development surrounding the mountain.
And yes, my comment about ice growing back on Kilimanjaro being worthy of dramatic statement was purposeful because of this. 🙂
Oh, but you should highlight the Ironic Quote of the Week from geoscientist Lonnie Thompson:
The opinions of global warming doubters will change on a dime depending on whether it is cold winter or a hot summer.
I had to read that three times before I finally understood he was referring to skeptics rather than AGW proponents.
“The snow-covered peak of Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa and is a landmark of Tanzania. However, the famous mountain is seriously affected by the consequences of climate change. The glacier atop Kilimanjaro is melting rapidly, and will probably vanish completely at some point between 2015 and 2020. Less visible is the threat to the entire Kilimanjaro ecosystem posed by changes in water balance. Historically, the region at the foot of the mountain has been densely wooded, providing habitat and wood resources for local populations. Melting glacial water, on which the local population depends, combines to form several rivers that feed the great Pangani river basin.
During the past years, unpredictable precipitation patterns, water scarcity and population growth have changed land use in the region. The local population has had to adapt to the changes, often by clearing forest in order to create new arable land. However, the loss of forests aggravates the cycle of water scarcity and soil erosion, further destabilizing the ecosystem.
In order to stop this cycle, the Ministry of Tourism and National Resources has cooperated with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, research institutions, and NGOs to develop a joint project with a budget of 3.3 million dollars. The project aims to start reforestation programs and to find alternative sources of income for local populations. Overall, the purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity and sustainability.”
http://www.adaptationlearning.net/experience/kilimanjaro-region-reforestation-and-raising-public-awareness
Note the obligatory blaming of AGW while acknowledging the real cause of the receding glacier.
I expect to hear this type of excuse more and more throughout this decade.
“Unfortunately, we made the prediction. I wish we hadn’t”
I am guessing there will be a lot more of these statements made over the coming years on various alarmist AGW statements that had been made.
//Begin Sarcasm Mode//
See, what more proof do you need that Global Warming is real!!!
Global Warming started to take away the snow, but because we didn’t act, it’s putting it back again!!!
😉
Good article, but it doesn’t mention the role of local deforestation in the decline of Kilimanjaro’s glaciers. Fortunately, at least one of the comments does.
I’m finishing a blog post that will mention that. Seems I’m doing this in reverse. Usually I write the blog, then post the bits from it, and not the other way around.
“The article is saying the original claims were overstated, not that they were completely wrong.” [How’d I do with the slash eye thing?]
I live in a kind of black and white world. You are completely right, or some degree of wrong. (Or I am not bright enough to know which–but that notwithstanding, you are one or the other.)
“overstated” is not right, so it is wrong.
As I say determining right or wrong my be beyond my instrumentation, my cognition capability, my whatever. Being unable to determine which has no effect on what is.
What are you gonna believe, the experts or your lying eyes?
The AGW promoting “Scientist” got a lot of input to the article, but I think his message still did not get out.. I’m going to help him out…
1. Yes, our prediction was wrong, our mistake was making a falsifiable prediction. What we meant to say was that all the ice and snow will melt off of Kilimanjaro at some point in the future, after we are all dead. The planet is going to die, so are you, if you don’t sign away your freedom and walk off a cliff for us…
Anyone who disagrees with this is a denialist and is guilty of all sorts of malfeasance and should be punished for crimes against humanity.
Any questions?
“The opinions of global warming doubters will change on a dime depending on whether it is cold winter or a hot summer. The only opinion that matters is nature’s. Nature has a way of humbling us all. It still remains to be seen just who that will be”
I think Freud had a name for this…
I have a glacier in my front yard and it is not receding because it snowed 4 inches yesterday. Bloody hell!
Fear not, Anthony. I have a quote for you that is…stunning…yes, that’s about right.
http://cbullitt.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/agw-assclown-non-sequitur-of-the-week/
Increasing snow on Kilimanjaro during the “warmest year on record”.
That’s got to be ‘consistent’ with global warming, doesn’t it?
“Could Al Gore look any dumber over this?”
He knew it was nonsense. You think he is stupid !
The sole reason they regret making the prediction is that they didn’t place the date beyond verification.
DaveE.
Forest + Time
= Glacier
Forest + People
= Desert
Desert + Time
= No glacier + No people
No people + Time
= Scrub
Scrub + No people + Time
= Forest
Forest + Time
= Glacier
Yet another successful prediction for the CO2 mediated climate variability model.
(just joking)
“So WHAT THE HELL were you doing publishing and supporting this AS IF IT WAS CERTAIN?????”
Because they practice Climate Scientology.
In depth knowledge, experience and facts are irrelevant to preferred and believed outcomes.
The problem with a lot of these alarmist researchers is that they rush to publish so they do further research to clear up uncertainties. ;O)
Kilimanjaro’s ice cap has been receding since at least the 1880s.