Global Warming “Deniers” and “Skeptics” trot out any and every true item in twisted truthiness discussions that are neither true nor truthful. With areas getting more
snowfall and uncertainty over data (after all, how many penguins are sitting and checking the thermometer every morning?), “Antarctica is cooling” has been a frequent denier/skeptic truthiness line to try to sidetrack substantive discussions about Global Warming/Climate Change and what to do about it.
Well, they say that a picture is worth a thousand words. This one, aggragating ten years of data, is worth far more than that. Thank you NASA.
A “cold Antarctica” has been somewhat an accepted part of the discussion space as “A cold Antarctica and Southern Ocean do not contradict our models of global warming. For a long time the models have predicted just that.” However, the data now shows that while Antarctica might remain cold to us, it is warming …
This graphic, from NASA, is a clear and simple path toward refutation of another of the deniers/skeptics misleading truthiness. Yes, there are a few spots (and, almost literally, spots) in Antarctica that are cooling but those are (quite sadly) overwhelmed by the areas warming.
This map of the temperature trend is based on thermal infrared (heat) observations from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite sensors. This image shows trends in “skin temperatures”—roughly the top millimeter of the land, sea ice, or sea surface, rather than air temperatures—and it shows the long-term change in yearly surface temperature between 1981 and 2007. Warming areas appear in shades of red, and cooling areas appear in shades of blue. One of the most dramatically warmed areas appears at the former location of the Larsen B Ice Shelf, which shattered in 2002.
This image is further discussed here.
Deniers deal with evidence …
The basic scientific knowledge about and supporting evidence for humanity’s role in drivingGlobal Warming has only strengthen over the years. And, in that time, the core points have remained the same: Human activities (especially, but not solely, fossil fuel use) are contributing to and even driven changes in the climate, including a global warming that will have quite serious implications for humanity (and a high percentage of species) if the pollution paths are not unchecked.
Deniers, however, float from evidence point to evidence point, taking something that is true (or, too often, simply false) in an isolated sense and using that to distort discussion and hamper moves toward changing humanity’s path forward toward a prosperous, climate-friendly society. Here are just a few examples of this:
- Drudge takes the truth out of truthiness
- New GW denialists’ deceptive lie on global temperatures and the deceitful argument that Global Warming has stalled in the past decade in the face of a hot 1998 and a cold January 2008
- Lies about Global Cooling media discussion in the 1970s
Sadly, these debates will continue since there are literally trillions of dollars at stake in how we set our pathway forward. There are many reasons driving deniers/skeptics, but adherence to the scientific method and a striving for truth is rarely one of them.
Stating a true fact does not necessarily make it the truth nor truthful. Global Warming deniers and skeptics are dedicated to fostering confusion, for delaying action through truthiness that confuses about the climate and about our ability to deal effectively with the challenges before us. WE cannot allow them to get away with this.
Blue vs Red … Colors with meaning?
Contemplate this map.
Do colors have meaning?
When considering Global Warming and the US political response to it, are the colors relevant?
Which color 
is more likely to be Energy Smart and which Energy Dumb? Which color’s Which color’s Presidential candidate is likely to act meaningfully on Global Warming when in the Oval Office? (What could we expect from
McFlip, McFlop, McSame McCain when it comes to a warming globe?) There is reason to wear blue for Earth Day … and election day!
We are fighting the redding of the earth due to Global Warming through the fighting of the Red America at the ballot box.