From WUWT on October 7th: The surprising real story about this year’s Northeast passage transit: The media botched it
One newspaper is making the most of this “first ever event”, according to a story in the UK Register:
The Times has liberally papered London underground carriages with a fascinating new ad campaign. One poster shows a ship navigating some treacherous icy waters, with the accompanying copy reading:
Climate change has allowed the Northeast Passage to be used as a commercial shipping route for the first time.
The Times advertisment
Impressive – if only it were true.
In fact it wasn’t, and now the Times has been forced to recant:
From The Register
An advertising campaign touting the depth and quality of the Times newspaper’s environment coverage has been slapped by an industry watchdog for inaccuracy. The paper has agreed to modify the advertisements, which are based on a false climate change claim.
The Times ads claimed that global warming had caused the North East shipping passage, the icy Arctic route which in summer links Russia’s European ports to the Bering Strait, to be opened for the first time. In fact, the North East Passage opened in 1934, and was opened to overseas traffic after the fall of the Soviet Union. Modern technology, specifically radar, has permitted a safer passage in recent years.
Read the entire story here at The Register
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The snow record that was broken here in Burlington, VT had stood for 40 years. The previous record snowstorm lasted 3 days while the recent storm dropped its 33″ in just a few hours. Yikes!
Here is an exerpt from a NY Times article in 1915 before the age of radar, Satphones, GPS, and modern icebreakers.
NORTHEAST PASSAGE MADE FOR SECOND TIME; Captain Vilkitski of the Russian Navy Completes a Historic Arctic Voyage ;- New Land Explored ;- Wireless Encounter with Sverdrup.
By CYRUS C. ADAMS. Member of the American Geographical Society.
December 23, 1915, Thursday
For the second time in 300 years of arctic endeavor the Northeast Passage, between Bering Sea and European waters, has been made. In July, 1914, Captain B.A. Vilkitski of the Russian Navy left Vladivostok with the purpose of attempting this journey which has baffled the efforts of so many hardy seamen.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9902E7DF103FE233A25750C2A9649D946496D6CF
This story was run by the BBC News Online some weeks ago. Some astute watcher pointed out the error of the story & it soon dropped from view. Presumabley the Times didn’t research it much beforehand, either that or they played the panto season, they know it’s a lie but published it anyway, or if not, they didn’t check their facts, it’s either fraudulence or incompetence either way!
Here’s a laugh, Britain today – you Colonials are next trust me!
http://bishophill.squarespace.com/blog/2010/1/5/curlers-thumb-noses-at-bureaucracy.html
It made me laugh, I had to otherwise I’d be in tears of despair!
AtB
Folks, don’t bother arguing with the Leftists in the State Run Media or even the Leftist politicians. They don’t care about the truth. They care about the huge amount of money to be made in trading carbon credits.
Want to do something about this giant lie? Tell everyone you know about climategate. I am. And it’s working. People are really surprised to hear about this. Some will actually do their own research. You’ll see. As the word spreads more and more, the politicians and media will have a really hard time pushing this crap every day.
Vincent (05:30:06)
I’m convinced that Piers Corbyn’s office is a 1950’s London Police Box.
That said,here in NE Oregon our NOAA office is saying that due to the
El Nino (I’ve commented before on this) no need to say,go to Arizona this year.
While it’s been relatively mild, down low,<3000ft msl, there is good snow in the Mtns. still piling up.
Our turn in the barrel is coming.
Steve Goddard (05:37:14) :
“Two weeks from now global warming will be all but dead in the UK. Even the Guardian seems to have dropped the ball in the wake of the snow, cold, and Met Office fails.”
Oh how I wish…
I have said elsewhere that any of our so called leaders (yes, even the incumbent idiot IMHO) would be staring at a landslide victory in the next general election if they just came out with a solid statement that they no longer “believed” in global warming as a threat to humanity in any way, shape or form.
Presuming martial law is not declared before then as a result of starving masses of freezing pensioners looting and rioting in the streets – or food shortages forcing all of us to do so – or power outages – or a new financial crisis – or even something really scary 😉
John R. Walker (04:44:13) :
“Trouble is, it’s hard to figure out which journos are just incompetent and which set out deliberately to deceive…”
For the sake of simplicity I assume journos are both incompetent and deliberately deceiving. That’s why the lamestream media is off the menu.
On one of the fact-oriented cable TV channels was an hour-long show about the construction of a cargo ship. I don’t remember the name of the ship, but it was a cargo ship designed to work in ice. Whether it was destined to the NE passage or not, it does indicate that technological changes include the ships and are not limited to what is attached to the ships.
Last month (December) someone asked me about global warming, and I expressed by doubts.
They asked how I felt about the northern passages being open for the first time ever.
I asked him two questions.
1. Why would they be called passages if they had never been open in the past.
2. Do you really think it’s still open now, in December, or do you think it was merely open for several weeks during the summer melt?
I received a blank look that lasted for several minutes.
I just saw on the news that London is getting slammed by global warming, with lots of it on the ground and many businesses shut down. The southern USA has had prolonged cold that is threatening crops. If we don’t hurry up and do something about this global warming problem we are going to freeze and starve to death! Brrrrr!
@ur momisugly Al Gore’s Holy Ghost (05:30:44) :
“Ha, I work in the offices of The Times and can tell you from listening to the gossip that floats around that a lot of people here don’t believe in manmade climate catastrophes.”
And are you comfortable with your complicity in The Times’ duplicitous behavior?
I fear that no matter the evidence against MMGW that the majority of warmist fanatics will not admit that they have got it wrong! Particularly the pro-warming country leaders and politicians who will find it very difficult to climb down as they will undoubtedly (and rightfully so!) face ridicule. This surely will be a major story.
Coming soon.
Impressive – if only it were true.
In fact it wasn’t, and now RealClimate has been forced to recant:
I’ve just spent an hour or more getting bogged down at the ASA site trying to complain about the ‘Action on CO2’ rubbish that’s indoctrinating our kids. I failed!
If anyone out there is more capable than I at working your way through paperwork jungles like this, could you please complain, for me and for everyone… Thanks
Recanting doesn’t matter. They accomplished what they wanted. The idea is now firmly planted in the minds of the public that ‘global warming opened the NE passage’ regardless if it is true or not. This is just like a trial lawyer working a false statement into his questioning, even if the Judge instructs the jury to ‘disregard’ the statement, it still has an effect.
Off topic, but Jeff at the Air Vent has an excellent review of the CRU data comparing urban and rural trends. Well worth a look…
http://noconsensus.wordpress.com/2010/01/05/cru-3b-urban-warm-bias-in-ghcn
There have been several other AGW-related complaints processed by the ASA in recent months. One is about the Bedtime Stories ad, which is still being investigated. Another was for the Plane Stupid ad with falling polar bears – this has been withdrawn by Plane Stupid, upon receiving complaints, seen here if you click on the Informally Resolved Cases tab:
So our complaints do have an impact; let’s keep it up.
Re contacting MPs, I’d also suggest contacting local prospective Parlimentary candidates, especially the Conservatives. They’re still the most likely to be forming the next government, but are facing a mass desertion to UKIP by their voters upon the issue of Britain’s continuing EU membership, and perhaps also AGW. Enough dissenting voices and Conservative High Command may take the hint and start to listen.
This is a good analogy for how AGW theory consensus is achieved.
False information is put out there by media, shady science or Al Gore documentaries, it is accepted as factual by the lay public who then continues to disseminate this information long after it has been shown to be flawed or “recanted.”
Sadly, as in other cases, what will be remembered out of this is the incorrect ststatement presented in the ad.
It seems to me that once something is in the newspapers, the info presented gets into the public mind much more than a story recant. I used the story of the passage from the 1930’s in my class without telling students that it was from 1934. (Thanks to WUWT.) I asked whether or not this would lead them to believe in global warming. It was quite a shock to them that the article was from 1934. But it is something they will not soon forget.
For a look at the Russian Ice Breaker fleet in action, see photo album by John Walker of AutoCAD fame. He went on a trip to the north pole on one to view the total eclipse of the sun in 2008. Stunning stuff, well worth a look.
OT
In the UK news from the UK’s
Daily Star
Janurary 6, 2010 — LONDON ENGLAND
Eight inches of snow in London England and more on the way with higher totals around London. Possibility of continuing snow for next several days with cold for next two weeks.
An Ice free North West Passage?
Englanders can’t even get out of their own driveways because of the snow.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been a leader in the AGW hoax and Britain has been a hotbed of Global Warming propaganda led by the CRU and the BBC.
I feel for the English commoners, but Gordon Brown and the rest of the British elite in favor of AGW are getting what they deserve.
Cheers!
th (05:32:47) : … the wooden ship, St. Roch, sailed from west to east thru the northwest passage in 2 years, …”
As a comment this is fine but keep in mind the geographic location being discussed in the story is for the northeast, not west.
But isn’t (or wasn’t) it informally known as The Times of London?
the North East shipping passage..hmm. it could be…but through the Thames won’t…