UPDATE: In a strange twist, Climate Depot reports that Brochure reveals Gore accurately cited scientist’s prediction of ice-free Arctic — It is the Scientist who has the explaining to do — not Gore
Marc Morano writes via email – This is turning into a war of phrases. Maslowski tells the UK Telegraph: “I was very explicit that we were talking about ‘near-ice-free conditions’ and not ‘completely ice-free conditions’ (as Gore claimed) in the northern ocean.”
Read details here
From the “Inconvenient Truths” department, the Times is reporting that Gore got called out for saying older figures on Arctic sea ice as “fresh” when they were not, and misrepresenting what the scientist actually said. This latest gaff makes three in a row for Mr. Gore, who recently made bizarre claims of the leaked CRU emails being “10 years old”, when there were many, many in the last decade, some in the last month. Gore also recently stated on national television recently that the Earth’s mantle was “several million degrees”, making it likely hotter than our sun.
As indicated by the Times article, his latest gaffe has not gone unnoticed by the MSM.
Excerpts of the Times article:
There are many kinds of truth. Al Gore was poleaxed by an inconvenient one yesterday.
The former US Vice-President, who became an unlikely figurehead for the green movement after narrating the Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, became entangled in a new climate change “spin” row.
Mr Gore, speaking at the Copenhagen climate change summit, stated the latest research showed that the Arctic could be completely ice-free in five years.
…
Mr Gore told the conference: “These figures are fresh. Some of the models suggest to Dr [Wieslav] Maslowski that there is a 75 per cent chance that the entire north polar ice cap, during the summer months, could be completely ice-free within five to seven years.”
However, the climatologist whose work Mr Gore was relying upon dropped the former Vice-President in the water with an icy blast.
“It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at,” Dr Maslowski said. “I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this.”
Mr Gore’s office later admitted that the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a “ballpark figure” several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore.
…
“This is an exaggeration that opens the science up to criticism from sceptics,” Professor Jim Overland, a leading oceanographer at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
“You really don’t need to exaggerate the changes in the Arctic.”
…
[Maslowksi said] “I was very explicit that we were talking about near-ice-free conditions and not completely ice-free conditions in the northern ocean. I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this,” he said. “It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at, based on the information I provided to Al Gore’s office.”
Read the complete Times article here
Marc Morano of Climate Depot also has a take on it here
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Ersatz
jbrodhead,
“Just out of curiosity, what is the phase relationship between the sine-wave and equinoxes and solstices?”
Minimum Arctic ice extent occurred on these dates (DD/MM/YY):
09/09/02, 18/09/03, 11/09/04, 22/09/05, 14/09/06, 24/09/07, 09/09/08, 13/09/09
Maximum Arctic ice occurred on these dates (DD/MM/YY):
21/03/03, 10/03/04, 06/03/05, 11/03/06, 10/03/07, 09/03/08, 05/03/09
(note there is some noise in the data at the turning points).
The Summer solstice (longest day in Northern hemisphere) occurs on the 20th or 21st of June, and the Winter solstice occurs on 20th or 21st of December.
This is interesting – the maximum/ minimum Arctic sea ice appears to lag behind the longest/shortest day by almost three months. This is not what I was initially expecting. Ah it must be because in Winter, the nights continue to be longer than the days until the equinoxe. (and vice versa in Summer).
Looking back at the data, most often the minimum and maximum ice occurs just before the corresponding equinoxe. Hmm I am not sure why this is. I don’t think it could be due to noisy data alone.
Caption- I wish I would have said this- ” Based on my own climate model, there is a 75% chance that my facts could be wrong- you see, there are fresh facts, fresh ice, rotten ice, new ice, summer ice, old ice, ice cream, etc. How would I know, I don’t even ice skate”.
This just came up on the AOL home page , much to my surprise .
Caption:
Tipper, Tipper the doctor called it Procto-Crainiosis !
See it’s not the hairplugs.
Caption: Uh oh… last time it looked like this it started ad-libbing.
Al Gore is a boob and unfortunately a boob with power and influence. What has happened to the profession of journalism that no one asks this incompetent even moderately difficult questions. His answers would expose him for fraud that he is. I wasn’t too pleased with Bush but just think where we would be if this boob had made it to the White House.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Gore’s reputation is changing. Below is a direct quote from the UK’s Daily Telegraph
“The Prince, who flew in by private jet, joined Arnold Schwarzenegger the Governor of California and Al Gore, the former US Senator, who also flew in to add impetus to the talks. ”
Source, dated 15/12/2009:-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhagen-climate-change-confe/6819392/Copenhagen-climate-summit-Prince-Charles-warns-climate-change-will-drive-starvation-and-terrorism.html
caption
That Brit really did say “Al..baby.”
People should show Al Gore more respect, he really is a very intelligent man and truly cares for the enviroment. There’s so many people out there that could give a [snip] less about the world, atleast he’s trying.
DABbio (19:18:59) :
C’mon, everyone, best caption contest is now open.
“I don’t need food. I need socks! I’m freezing my ass off out here.”
(For those of you reading the Seth Borenstein thread)
Ian:
http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/nsidc-seaice-n/from:1980/mean:12
Nope – no trend there
martyn (12:47:31) :
Exclusive: Brochure may reveal Gore accurately cited scientist’s prediction of ice-free Arctic — It is the Scientist who has the explaining to do — not Gore
Climate Depot Exclusive
The problem is that Goreacle talks about the information as if it is his own and he did all the research. All he does is regurgitate “facts”.
Hannah, don’t be naive….he doesn’t care about the environment, he cares about how green his bank account is.
Caption: Gore: I picked a great day to stop snorting cocaine!
Hannah (15:03:46) :
People should show Al Gore more respect, he really is a very intelligent man and truly cares for the enviroment.
If your comments were meant to be sarcastic, then read no further. If your comments are to be taken at face value, then please read on.
If Al gore is truly a very intelligent man and truly cares for the environment, then he’s the best actor in the world. To paraphrase Forrest Gump: “Intelligence is as intelligence does”, and Al Gore doesn’t do intelligence.
He demonstrates his love of the environment by owning a home that Hoover Dam struggles to power, flying hither and yon in a private jet, having limos waiting with their air conditioners running so that when he makes the short walk from the hotel to his limo he won’t be uncomfortable, etc. If you claim such actions imply he cares about the environment, then in addition to its not being necessary to question Al Gore’s intelligence, it’s also not necessary to question yours.
What is the hoot in this story, of course, is that that dufus Gore was reciting a prediction made by a scientist 5 to 7 years ago that the polar ice caps would be gone in 5 to 7 years (from his prediction).
Well it is 5 to 7 years later and the prediction is false.
Gore thought the prediction was just made this year and that he would have 5 to 7 years from now before it was shown to be wrong.
What a bunch of dopes. These idiots, in their rush to grab a headline, can’t even keep their lies straight.
Serenity now…………….
Captions are all so great. I couldn’t possibly decide. I also loved this remark.
Kate (02:03:53) :
“There is a 75 per cent chance that Al Gore, during the summer months, could be completely fact-free within five to seven years.”
Could have been the headline.
“If your comments were meant to be sarcastic, then read no further. If your comments are to be taken at face value, then please read on.”
They were, I was being acerbic but apparently it didn’t come off as strongly as I had intended. I agree with you, Al Gore’s a prick.
Hannah…that is a clarification I understand and apprciate.
Although most average pricks might not like it.
@nolan (05:28:44) :
Last month, when the e-mails became public, I commented simply with the same word…schadenfreude
I continue to take pleasure in the revelations of this scandal. I hope AGW’s demise is quick enough to prevent additional global misery.
Hvordan (15:41:55) :
Thank you for that link – that is a dramatically different data set, which also goes further back in time.
Robert van der Veeke (21:44:09) :
Doug in Seattle (19:45:40) :
Al Gore, Steven Schneider, Michael Mann, etc. will NOT go quietly, no matter how we would wish it.
But they are headed to the backwaters. They can do all the kicking and screaming they want there. No one will care.
From the update: Climate Depot reports that Brochure reveals Gore accurately cited scientist’s prediction of ice-free Arctic — It is the Scientist who has the explaining to do — not Gore
Al stated “These figures are fresh,” and then one of his spokesweasels stated “the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a ‘ballpark figure’ several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore.”
Is a percentage estimate several years old *fresh* in the Gore universe? Sorry, but he’s *still* got some “ehsplainin’ to do”…
Photo Caption: “Gosh darn, what would Elmer Gantry do now?”
Best caption entry:
“They didn’t buy it. Now what am I gonna do?”
Remember the “witch test”, about which Monty Python made such fun?
It might not be a bad idea…
Stake Aligory to the ice at the North Pole. (and tell Santa to ignore the whining)
If Aligory remains on top of ice, 24/7/365.25 for the next 5-7 years, he’s a fraud.
If, within the 5-7 years, Aligory sinks like whale crap, to the bottom of the ocean, he might have been onto something.