Global cooling

Well, yet again the score seems to be coming out Science 1, Al Gore 0.

According to a report in the Telegraph, Dr. James Hansen and the GISS reported that this October was the hottest ever. People called them on their data, and it turns out that for a large part of Russia they were comparing September of this year to October of last year. Of course it was warmer.

The numbers were revised and re-released, this time showing the record highs in Antarctica instead of Russia, but still coming to the same conclusion that this was the hottest October ever. But this was again challenged, as satellite images show that there is actually 30% more polar ice right now than at this same time last year.

Conclusion? Some scientists keep stretching to make it seem like we are all heading into a horrible Kevin Costner movie. But the evidence is relatively unconvincing. If you want to lower pollution, there are better reasons to do it than to stop global warming. Me personally? I want to reduce pollution because clean air smells better than dirty air. I think that resorting to scare tactics is a bit silly.