As Mark Twain told us, there are three types of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics. Unfortunately, Agence France-Press (AFP) reporter Marlow Hood reminds us of Twain’s truth in his April 29th article entitled “Sea ice loss major cause of Arctic warming.” Mr. Hood uses the typical statistic-manipulator tactic of cherry-picking data points and wording descriptions in a way likely to mislead the average reader.

Hood begins his article by claiming that “melting sea ice has dramatically accelerated warming in the Arctic” and continues to talk about data from 1989 to 2008, as if the present is irrelevant.

In fact, … Continue Reading

In the August 8th New York Times, John Broder reports:

Arctic melting also presents new problems for the military. The shrinking of the ice cap, which is proceeding faster than anticipated only a few years ago, opens a shipping channel that must be defended and undersea resources that are already the focus of international competition.

Considering that this paragraph comes under an article titled “Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. security”, one would hope Broder knew he was on solid ground here. Unfortunately he is not. The Arctic ice cap – which principally, and as referenced in this story, … Continue Reading

In her July 3rd “Obama to seek climate deal in Moscow” article, the Guardian’s Suzanne Goldenberg reported that, on his current trip, President Barack Obama is seeking to entice Russia into keeping the Kyoto process alive, in advance of talks on a successor to the five year plan that expires at the end of 2012.

In its story, the paper writes “‘I think there is a much more realistic appraisal about the potential pros and cons of climate change. It is hard for them to ignore what is happening in the Arctic [which is warming rapidly],’ said (Andrew Kuchins of … Continue Reading