I may just divert to Toronto from Chicago and pay this writer a visit so I can tell him to his face what an idiot he is, or have my two new Canadian friends, Guy and Stuart, do it for me. He deserves it. How do the publishers of this newspaper reconcile printing such blatant idiocy based on what the writer calls “weeks old” science? How does such a headline get published? At first I thought maybe it was just the copy editor at fault, making a dumb headline, but then I read this in the body of the story:
Over 4.5 billion people could die from Global Warming related causes by 2012, as planet Earth accelarates [sic] into a greed-driven horrific catastrophe.
6.7 billion people in the world today, and 4.5 billion will die in less than two years due to a temperature rise that will be less in magnitude than our regularly experienced variance? There’s a link at the end, feel free to sound off. We need to remind this newspaper of this in 2012 – Anthony
Over 4.5 Billion people could die from Global Warming-related causes by 2012
Hydrate hypothesis illuminates growing climate change alarm
Compiled by John Stokes
A recent scientific theory called the “hydrate hypothesis” says that historical global warming cycles have been caused by a feedback loop, where melting permafrost methane clathrates (also known as “hydrates”) spur local global warming, leading to further melting of clathrates and bacterial growth.
In other words, like western Siberia, the 400 billion tons of methane in permafrost hydrate will gradually melt, and the released methane will speed the melting. The effect of even a couple of billion tons of methane being emitted into the atmosphere each year would be catastrophic.
The “hydrate hypothesis” (if validated) spells the rapid onset of runaway catastrophic global warming. In fact, you should remember this moment when you learned about this feedback loop-it is an existencial turning point in your life.
By the way, the “hydrate hypothesis” is a weeks old scientific theory, and is only now being discussed by global warming scientists. I suggest you Google the term.
Now that most scientists agree human activity is causing the Earth to warm, the central debate has shifted to when we will pass the tipping point and be helpless to stop the runaway Global Warming.
There are enormous quantities of methane trapped in permafrost and under the oceans in ice-like structures called clathrates. The methane in Arctic permafrost clathrates is estimated at 400 billion tons.
Methane is more than 20 times as strong a greenhouse gas as CO2, and the atmosphere currently contains about 3.5 billion tons of the gas.
The highest temperature increase from global warming is occurring in the arctic regions-an area rich in these unstable clathrates. Simulations from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) show that over half the permafrost will thaw by 2050, and as much as 90 percent by 2100.
…
Western Siberia is heating up faster than anywhere else in the world, having experienced a rise of some 3C in the past 40 years. The west Siberian peat bog could hold some 70 billion tonnes of methane. Local atmospheric levels of methane on the Siberian shelf are now 25 times higher than global concentrations.
…
Runaway Global Warming promises to literally burn-up agricultural areas into dust worldwide by 2012, causing global famine, anarchy, diseases, and war on a global scale as military powers including the U.S., Russia, and China, fight for control of the Earth’s remaining resources.
Over 4.5 billion people could die from Global Warming related causes by 2012, as planet Earth accelarates into a greed-driven horrific catastrophe.
…
Make comments about this article in The Canadian Blog.
[DON’T VISIT – AV PROGRAMS REPORT AS “ATTACK PAGE”]
Full story here
Contact page for The Canadian here
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UPDATE: To further illustrate just how bad this newspaper is, they have what appears to be a current date for the story right above the headline:
Yet when you look at the footer:
The automatic current date inserter gives the false impression of fresh news. It certainly fooled me and other readers. It appears this is an old article from 2007, still no less stupid, and to be proven false within 18 months. Readers that are visiting the blog page link provided by The Canadian are reporting AV software saying it to be an “attack site”. I’ve verified this, Visiting not recommended. Just make a date in your appointment calendar to drop a line to the editors (assuming this paper is still in existence in 2012) to remind them you and 4.5 billion other people aren’t dead. – A
There is only one cure for an attack of the stupids………………………………… time.
Heinlein it was who said it best me tink.
In all life the environment judges stupidity with the death penalty.
Maybe knot.
Life on earth is not fuzzy.
“Runaway Global Warming promises to literally burn-up agricultural areas into dust worldwide by 2012, causing global famine, anarchy, diseases, and war on a global scale as military powers including the U.S., Russia, and China, fight for control of the Earth’s remaining resources.”
Florida has summer temperatures that should have killed everyone in the state, yet we survive year after year.
I had the same reaction. Jumbo shrimp, military intelligence, and now ‘local global warming’….
So his timing’s a bit off. You’re going to crucify him for that?
That is even more spectacular that the UK Guardian’s claim in 2004 that by 2007 the Netherlands would have been covered by the seas.
I understand that it hasn’t but the Guardian, who claim to make a point of correcting minor errors, have yet to acknowledge this. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2004/feb/22/usnews.theobserver1
This is the first I have seen of this “Socially Progressive” newspaper. Hopefully it will be the last. No more local global silliness please!
With 400 billion tons of methane in the atmosphere, I think warming would be the least of our worries. Think of the smell!
Muh Ha-ha.
Slightly OT, I recall the playbook for socialist revolutions actually hinge on tier one radicals(True believers) doing most of the knife work. Once the screaming stops, and the gutters overflow with red stuff, those who pulled the shivs on the public get one in the back from their tier two comrades (Middle management). Never leave the true radicals alive and heaving post revolution, they’re far too dangerous, ….so it gets me-a-wondering.
In the lemon-scented-bright-green-post-normal-world, do those idealogues (Canadian-Pseudo-Reporters included), fermented in a rich syrup of “Saving the world earns you a seat at the table”, really, really expect not to end up in a special GAIA reeducation camp?
These AGW puppies need to read a little history (we stll have history right?)
So when is the Piltdown Mann going on criminal trial for crying ‘Clathrates’ in a crowded theatre?
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DANGER! DANGER!
Google News finally found something named “The Canadian” which it identifies as a blog. The URL is lecanadian.com, which IS NOT the address on the above linked article. The banners do match. Just checked an article at lecanadian, it has a 2010 copyright date. The linked site is likely abandoned. Reviewing the warning, it looks like the ad server put up something with malicious code, and if the site is no longer maintained then it could have easily been there long enough for Google to notice.
WHOIS reports both agoracosmopolitan and lecanadian were registered through GoDaddy with the following info:
Technical contact same as Administrative.
Note also:
Thus it looks like a “standard” address shift, except that the new site apparently doesn’t have the archives of the old, a search at the site for “hydrate hypothesis” returns nothing.
BTW, the lecanadian site looks wonderful. Here’s the recent article Google News found:
Witnesses report UFO over Delaware waters
Truly beautiful. Go to the Categories section on the right side, click on Global Warming. Then realize this “socially progressive newspaper” is the Canadian version of Weekly World News, except slightly less trustworthy.
In only 2 years of time. Got to be an election in Canada soon!
(Btw, I think a few millions may be saverd in a hundred years of time from +0.3 to +1.2 degrees C. After all coldness kills more than the often pleasant heat and moisture.)
(Correction: saverd -> saved)
Phil said: “all you are really doing is giving them free publicity and driving traffic to their site. (At least you would be, if Firefox didn’t tell me that their page has been blocked because it is an “attack page”).”
We’re not all so feckless as to be “driven” to that site, Phil. We still believe in free choice around here – for example, you had the choice not to click the link.
The methane in Siberian permafrost trope is a big chunk of that idiot book by Fred Pearce of New Scientist called “The Last Generation”. (I threw our copy in the recycling rather than give it away to Oxfam and let it terrify anyone else). If the world were going to turn to dust by 2012 and 4.5 billion people were going to die they had better start about…. NOW. Still it might save us spending all that money on the London Olympics.
Not a new idea. John Barnes used it in “Mother of Storms”, perhaps 10 years ago. IIRC, the plot was that an attack using non-radioactive heat emitters (what?) on a terrorist camp in the arctic releases megatons of methane into the atmosphere, then a massive rolling storm scours the earth until stopped by a genuine deus ex machina…
And even that didn’t kill as many people as this article!
“That is even more spectacular that the UK Guardian’s claim in 2004 that by 2007 the Netherlands would have been covered by the seas”
Not the Guardian’s claim, but the Pentagon’s claim, as the headline makes clear. I’ve read a synopsis of their report (can’t find the link) which apart from the garbage “predictions” contradicts itself many times.
Almost forgot….
Did you know that the [strong]Oxford English Dictionary[/strong] lists three different spellings for the word [i]gullible[/i]?
It’s a Marxist rag. No surprise here. The co-editor only posts occasionally, maybe after he runs out of weed and becomes conscious. I haven’t checked to see if he has any SEIU connection here in Toronto.
According to http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/about_us.html this news paper “is inspired by Canada’s very first newspaper called ‘Le Canadien’, that was founded in 1806”. So, according to this newspaper, Canada’s first newspaper was in 1806.
According to http://stephenkimber.com/journalism/canadas-first-newspaper Canada’s first newspaper, the Halifax Gazette, opened in 1752. So, in reality, Canada’s first newspaper was 54 years earlier than what was claimed.
Apparently fact checking is optional at this newspaper.
There must be some misprints in that article. Even the most extreme AGW hysterics know better than to say that Armageddon is barely 2 years away. Their game is to keep the date far enough in the future that they won’t be around to explain why their prediction flopped, while at the same time lining their pockets on the rubber-chicken hysteria circuit. Maybe it was meant to be 2112 instead of 2012? Or not. 😉
If there was ever a good excuse for the psychopaths of the world to go ballistically helter skelter on the population, this would be one of them.
Alarmism like this could have very scary consequences.
People/media who toss around unfounded garbage claims to the public are being purposefully irresponsible and should be held accountable for those actions.
Related to this, Methane levels in the atmosphere appear to be stabilizing/heading down again after a brief upward blip in the last two years.
Barrow, Alaska’s measurements; this station leads the general global trends by a year or two and has the highest numbers (methane levels decrease as one moves from the far north and east asia to the southern hemisphere and the south pole).
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/webdata/ccgg/iadv/graph/brw/brw_ch4_ts_obs_00011.png
Is the 4.5 billion human deaths from global warming a good thing or a bad thing?
The world is full of catastrophe peddlers, all dressed in the colors of their Earth Mother and holding onto large placards and sacred writ.
Why not? They had good teachers and it worked for them.
Credo quia absurdum