Category Archives: Extent

The David and Judy Show

October 13, 2013ExtentDavid Rose, Judith Curry, NSIDCJim Hunt

In case today’s headline metaphor doesn’t readily translate into other cultures, it refers to the popular fairground sideshow in which a couple of puppets dance on the end of some strings, accompanied from time to time by a baby, some sausages, a crocodile and a police officer.

Broadcasting House’s Million Square Kilometre Blunder

October 4, 2013ExtentAlbedo, Angela Rippon, BBC, BH, Daily Mail, ExtentJim Hunt

It has just been brought to my attention that the topic of Arctic sea ice was raised by Angela Rippon on the edition of “Broadcasting House” that aired on BBC Radio 4 on the morning of Sunday September 29th. In her review of that Sunday’s papers Angela had the following to say:

Will The Telegraph Print the Truth in the Cold Light of Day?

October 4, 2013ExtentChristopher Booker, Extent, Geoffrey Lean, Hayley Dixon, NSIDC, TelegraphJim Hunt

I just received an emailed letter from the Telegraph’s Head of News, part of which reads as follows:

The Telegraph has looked into the matters you raise. As far as the points concerning ice extent are concerned, the incorrect information was derived from data published by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The mistaken information was due to a typographical error, which the NSIDC only corrected after the article that incorporated it was published. We have since updated the online versions of the article and explained why this was necessary.

There is no mention in the letter of any “updates” or “corrections” being put into print. The Telegraph are thus telling much the same story as the Mail, which is of course wholly unsatisfactory when it comes to correcting the long list of “inaccuracies and misrepresentations” they have recently published regarding the sorry state of sea ice in the Arctic. This is how they’ve done it:

The Mail Makes Modest Amends

September 28, 2013ExtentChristopher Booker, Daily Mail, David Rose, TelegraphJim Hunt

Here’s the text of a comment I just left on The Telegraph web site underneath an article written by Christopher Booker entitled “The ice is not melting, yet still the scaremongers blunder on”:

Humiliating Mistakes by David Rose

September 22, 2013ExtentBob Ward, Grantham Institutemarty

Today’s headline paraphrases slightly the title of a recent blog post by Bob Ward, who is Policy and Communications Director of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy at the Grantham Research Institute. In that article Bob finally provides an answer to the question that’s been troubling us about how David Rose arrived at his preposterous “Almost a million more square miles of ocean covered with ice than at the same time last year” bullet point in his article published two weeks ago in the Mail on Sunday.

An Unbroken Ice Sheet?

September 18, 2013Extent2013 Minimum, Daily Mail, David Rose, Goddard, NASA, NSIDC, VideosJim Hunt

David Rose has now had another article published in the Mail on Sunday. The new one refers back to his previous words of wisdom about the Arctic, imparting this piece of information:

60 Per Cent of Nothing?

September 14, 2013ExtentArt, Daily Mail, David Rose, Extent, Fragile, NSIDC, Videos, VolumeJim Hunt

Our title today is an allusion to Bill Bruford’s “Five Percent For Nothing”, from the 1971 album “Fragile” by Yes. Here’s what the cover looks like:

Fragile cover art, by Roger Dean (image Wikipedia)

A Million Square Miles?

September 13, 2013ExtentDaily Mail, Extent, NSIDC, PCCJim Hunt

Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start!

Them:

A chilly Arctic summer has left nearly a million more square miles of ocean covered with ice than at the same time last year – an increase of 60 per cent.

Us:

The Great White Con

Putting the Arctic sea ice record straight