ABC news has been running a news story about the Arctic’s record ice melting this year. The story states that this past week that 69,000 square miles of ice has melted in the past week. This is roughly the size of Flordia.

So of course when I read the ABC news article I was somewhat skeptical. In fact I think the article shows a distinct liberal bias from the writer. Everything said in the article helps to further the environmentalist cause and gives absolutely no time to detractors of the global warming theory.

I also had a problem with some of the statistics. All of these facts are given without any kind of context. They don’t mention what the averages are so we have nothing to compare them with. How does 69,000 square miles compare with the average decline in a week? ABC named their source as the National Snow and Ice Data Center. So I said hey why not just e-mail the NSIDC and ask them? So that’s what I did.

Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to the center just to give you context:

There’s a story currently on ABC news stating that 69,000 square miles of Arctic ice has melted within the past week or so. I am wondering what would be the average amount of ice melted in a week around this time of year, and what would be the record for most ice melted in a week? I’m looking for information to compare this statistic with so that I can find out how significant this really is.

I am pleased to report that within a day I was contacted by scientist Walt Meier. I thought his answer was great.

First, the rate of decline varies quite widely - from year to year and even day to day within a given year. It depends on (1) how fast ice is melting from above-freezing temperatures, and (2) how the ice is moving around in response to winds and currents. So it can be quite variable. By this time of year it would not be unusual for the ice extent to start increasing. But on average, around this time of year 20,000-25,000 square miles

The rate of decline generally is fastest in July, ranging between 200,000 and 250,000 square miles in a week. This years melt was the most extreme seen, particularly in early July, when the sea ice decreased over 500,000 square miles in one week.

So what exactly does this mean? To be honest I was hoping to hear something that would completely debunk the ABC story, but that just isn’t the case The ice is melting at over double the rate it usually does this time of year. Normally only 20-25 thousand square miles are melting, and this year it’s to 69. In fact this year completely smashes the previous record from 2005. I believe that ABC has accurately presented the statics.

However, my efforts were not all in vein. The thing that really got to me about the story was the whole size of Flordia thing. You all have to admit, when you see that title it perks up interest. The title just screams “OMFG! GLOBAL WARMING IS GOING TO KILL US ALL!” Yet when you put that 69,000 next to the average yearly high of 200,000 and this year’s high of 500,000 in a week it kinda makes you wonder what ABC was thinking doesn’t it?

I must also mention that the institute didn’t exist prior to 1979, back in the global cooling days. Given that the warmest year on record was 1934 one must wonder what we would know if we had the technology to measure ice melt back then. I think it’s entirely possible that 2007 hasn’t been the biggest ice melting summer in the past century.

Finally before I go I have to give this final disclaimer. I believe in full disclosure. I can’t be completely fair and balanced, so I tell you before hand what my agenda is. I do this in the hopes that it will help your critical analysis of my articles. I’m not really a fan of the whole green movement. I do believe the Earth is getting warmer. However, I’m not convinced that mankind is the source of this phenomenon nor am I convinced that it will continue. I’m willing to admit that I could be wrong, after all there’s still a lot for us to learn. It’s just to hard to say either way. I also don’t agree at all with some of the green policies some are trying to enact at the government level. I highly doubt it will make the slightest dent in the problem, and will only stunt economic growth.

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