Category Archives: Satire

The 2024 Arctic Sea Ice Minimum Extent in the Cryodenialosphere

September 24, 2024SatireAl Gore, Anthony Watts, Climate Etc., CryoSat-2, DMI, Extent, IceSat, Javier Vinos, Judith Curry, Matthew Wielicki, NALOPKT, NWP, Paul Homewood, Steve Milloy, Thickness, Volume, WUWTJim Hunt

Earlier today the National Snow and Ice Data Center announced that:

On September 11, Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent of 4.28 million square kilometers (1.65 million square miles). The 2024 minimum is the seventh lowest in the nearly 46-year satellite record. The last 18 years, from 2007 to 2024, are the lowest 18 sea ice extents in the satellite record…

Note that this is a preliminary announcement. Changing winds or late-season melt could still reduce the Arctic ice extent, as happened in 2005 and 2010. NSIDC scientists will release a full analysis of the Arctic melt season, and discuss the Antarctic winter sea ice growth, in early October.

Consequently several of the usual cryodenialospheric suspects have been frantically spinning their webs of deceit around the announcement.

First up was Javier Vinós, who beat the NSIDC’s starting gun by firing a broadside on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. If you’re unfamiliar with the name, Javier frequently pontificates about Arctic sea ice, amongst other things, on Judith Curry’s “Climate Etc.” blog. He confidently announced that:

Arctic sea ice reaches its annual minimum with an extent greater than in 2007, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2023.

The two warmest years in a row at > +1.5°C have ZERO IMPACT on the 17-year resilience of Arctic sea ice.

Needless to say, “Snow White” felt compelled to quibble:

Clutz Clutches at Minimum Extent Straws

September 17, 2024SatireExtent, MASIE, NASA, NOAA, NSIDC, OSI SAF, Peter Wadhams, Ron Clutz, Science Matters, SII, Walt MeierJim Hunt

On several previous occasions “Snow White” and I have documented Ron Clutz’s misuse of MASIE Arctic sea ice extent data on his “Science Matters” blog. We agree with Ron that science matters, so on several occasions we have attempted to direct his attention to my interview with NASA/NSIDC scientist Walt Meier. Walt’s words of wisdom included:

Reuters Fact Checks Daily Septic Arctic Sea Ice Nonsense

April 28, 2024SatireAllan Astrup Jensen, ASIB, BAS, Chris Morrison, Chris Packham, Daily Sceptic, Extent, Gaëlle Veyssière, Julienne Stroeve, Laura Kuenssberg, Neven Acropolis, NSIDC, Reuters, Toby Young, Tom Colls, Tony Heller, UCL, Walt MeierJim Hunt

Our regular reader(s) may be wondering at this juncture, but that is not a typo in today’s title. For an in depth discussion of how alleged “renowned amateur naturalist and honorary doctor” Chris Packham sensationally rebranded Toby Young’s self identified “skeptical” web site live on air on the BBC’s “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg” see here.

By way of additional background information see also our in depth investigation of the Daily Sceptic’s Arctic porky pie production line over here.

To the apparent astonishment of the Septic’s alleged “Environment Editor”, Chris Morrison, Reuters Fact Check has now followed in “Snow White’s” dainty footsteps through the as yet unmelted Arctic snow cover:

Chris Martz Should’ve Gone To Specsavers

April 24, 2024SatireACCAP, Arctic Dipole, BBC, Chris Martz, Igor Polyakov, Jonathan Amos, Mark Serreze, PIOMAS, Rick Thoman, Specsavers, University of Alaska, Wieslaw MaslowskiJim Hunt

Chris Martz, the new kid on the “skeptical block”, proudly proclaimed on XTwitter yesterday that:

There’s more sea ice heading into the summer in the Arctic this year than there was in 1989.

That is of course a porky pie:

As you can see, Chris also invokes the age old canard of the “Mark Serreze Arctic sea ice death spiral”. I discussed that very topic with Mark in 2015:

Mark told me that he still stood by his 2030 estimate for the onset of a seasonally ice free Arctic, although: “Most models say more like 2050”.

Tony Heller Sets Arctic Shark Jump World Record!

March 17, 2024SatireAge, Beaufort Gyre, Fram Strait, Greenland, Greenland Shark, IPCC, North Pole, SROCC, Thickness, Tony Heller, Transpolar Drift, Twitter, USS Skate, VolumeJim Hunt

This is a photograph of a Greenland shark:

(c) Eric Ste Marie https://www.husseylab.com/

You will no doubt be astonished to learn that shark jumping supremo Tony Heller has just jumped over the entire East Greenland population of this long lived but officially vulnerable species. Without harming a single one!

Over on XTwitter “Steve”/Tony was recently shown this video which graphically reveals the declining age of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean:

He responded as follows:

According to the “summary for skeptics” of the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate:

Time for Toby Young to Stop all the Fudges, Omissions and Outright Deceptions.

February 9, 2024SatireBBC, Chris Morrison, Daily Sceptic, Extent, Net Zero, NSIDC, Sir David Attenborough, Toby YoungJim Hunt

As I surmised only yesterday:

The so called “skeptics” are probably already salivating over that image!

The name may not be familiar on the other side of the Atlantic, but here in the once United Kingdom Mr. Toby Young self identifies as “skeptical”, having named his web site the “Daily Sceptic”. This morning he Xweeted thus:

The linked article was written by the Daily Sceptic’s alleged “Environment Editor” Chris Morrison. Mr. Morrison Xweeted thus:

Jim Steele and Anthony Watts Embrace Bad Arctic Science

January 22, 2024SatireAMO, Anthony Watts, Arctic Oscillation, CO2, Daily Sceptic, Ignatius Rigor, Jim Steele, Toby Young, WUWT, Yale 360Jim Hunt

Maintaining my New Year’s resolution to expose bad Arctic pseudo-science on (a)social media I stumbled upon this from the self confessed “skeptic” Jim Steele on XTwitter. Jim’s paid Elmo for a blue tick and is rather verbose, but these extracts will give you the flavour of his ramblings:

How Bogus Arctic Warming Attribution Enabled the Climate Crisis Scam

Abnormal warming over the Arctic Ocean and Arctic sea ice loss has been falsely blamed on rising CO2 and evidence of the climate crisis. Such alarmist graphic propaganda is common, like Yale 360’s emphasizing the Arctic Ocean’s warming of several degrees in November 2022, while ignoring the cooling over North America and Eurasia. But any critical thinking person can see warm Arctic temperatures are due to inflows of warm Atlantic water, NOT rising CO2…

The 1990s shift in wind directions caused by the natural Arctic Oscillation, drove out much of the Arctic’s thick multi-year sea ice which resulted in thinner annual sea ice which allowed more heat to ventilate and warm the Arctic (see peer-reviewed Rigor (2002) & (2004)). As the natural Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation shifts to more northern hemisphere cooling, a decrease in the flow of warming tropical Atlantic water entering the Arctic, a rebound in insulating Arctic sea ice will occur that will simultaneously decrease Arctic temperatures.

People who understand these natural climate dynamics that affect the Arctic, always and quickly understand the bogus global warming crisis is driven by natural Arctic warming oscillations.

Needless to say my critical thinking Arctic alter ego felt an urgent need to quibble with Jim’s (almost) unevidenced assertions.

As is often the case with such skeptical “arguments”, the ancient academic articles quoted don’t actually support the conclusions. “Snow White” attempted to raise the matter with Jim:

Tony Heller Denies Global Warming

January 1, 2024SatireExtent, Greenland Ice Sheet, Greenland SMB, NOAA, NSIDC, OSI SAF, Tony HellerJim Hunt

Apart from (presumably accidentally) empirically confirming global warming and Arctic sea ice volume decline, Tony Heller has also been frantically attempting to persuade his flock of faithful followers that the current value of the OSI SAF’s extent metric means that the impending series of “2023 has been the hottest year evah!” stories are all lies.

Here a few examples of his infamous oeuvre, together with “Snow White’s” responses:

Tony Heller Confirms Global Warming!

December 29, 2023SatireECCC, IPCC, Rutgers, Snow Cover, SWE, Tony Heller, XTwitterJim Hunt

As the New Year rapidly approaches Tony Heller is up to his old Arctic tricks yet again. No doubt we’ll get on to many of his hoary old chestnuts in due course, but although I may easily have blinked and missed it he appears to have a new trick up his voluminous sleeve. Providing empirical evidence that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s global warming “predictions” are correct!

Here is a recent extract from “Snow White’s” XTwitter feed:

Here's @TonyClimate demonstrating yet again that either:

1) He has no understanding of all things #Arctic, or

2) He understands well enough, but he pulls the wool over the eyes of his flock of faithful followers:https://t.co/U3tbp2qrOU

Which is it Tony? #ClimateBrawl #FoFF https://t.co/yhBf4sEqJU pic.twitter.com/u7wCQknwIy

— Snow White (@GreatWhiteCon) December 29, 2023

By way of further elucidation, here is an extract from the IPCC’s Technical Summary of their AR6 Working Group 1 report:

Tony Heller’s Faithful Flock of Sheep

July 28, 2023SatireAMSR2, BoMMM, DMI, Elon Musk, JAXA, OSI SAF, Petermann Glacier, Tony Heller, TwitterJim Hunt

My Arctic alter ego was checking out the new “X” rated edition of Twitter when “she” couldn’t help but notice that Elon Musk had allowed Tony Heller back into the climate “debate” thereon, albeit with a new handle.

“Snow White” also noticed that for some strange reason Tony was telling lots of porky pies about Arctic sea ice again! Hence:

Here's @TonyClimate demonstrating yet again that either:

1) He has no understanding of all things #Arctic, or

2) He understands well enough, but he pulls the wool over the eyes of his faithful flock of followers.https://t.co/yYNhpSncLE

Which is it Tony?#ClimateScam #BOMMM https://t.co/KYjlXHf8ly

— Snow White (@GreatWhiteCon) July 28, 2023

and:

In actual fact July 26 #AMSR2 #Arctic #SeaIce extent is lower than 2005 👇

This #InconvenientTruth will not be reported by @TonyClimate!#ClimateScam #BOMMM #TruthDecay https://t.co/WZaYKCI888 pic.twitter.com/OmJUXeAxfk

— Snow White (@GreatWhiteCon) July 27, 2023

The Great White Con

Putting the Arctic sea ice record straight