“In his speech, Mr Gore told the conference: ‘These figures are fresh. Some of the models suggest to Dr [Wieslav] Maslowski that there is a 75 per cent chance that the entire north polar ice cap, during the summer months, could be completely ice-free within five to seven years.’
“However, the climatologist whose work Mr Gore was relying upon dropped the former Vice-President in the water with an icy blast.
“‘It’s unclear to me how this figure was arrived at,’ Dr Maslowski said. ‘I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this.’
“Mr Gore’s office later admitted that the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a “ballpark figure” several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore.”
***
“A surge in sunshine more than 60 years ago helped Swiss mountain glaciers melt faster than today, even though warmer average temperatures are being recorded now, Swiss researchers said Monday.
“Their study into the impact of solar radiation on Alpine glaciers made the ‘surprising discovery’ that in the 1940s, and especially summer 1947, the ice floes lost the most ice since measurements begin 95 years ago, according to Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ)…
“‘The surprising thing is that this paradox can be explained relatively easily with radiation,’ said one the ETHZ researchers, Matthias Huss, in the university’s online review.
“‘This should not lead people to conclude that the current period of global warming is not really as big of a problem for the glaciers as previously assumed,’ he added.”
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member