Slow news day at the ABC: shoot a polar bear

27 November, 2014 by

You're killing me with your addition to fossil fuels

You’re killing me with your addiction to fossil fuels

Plucked from the ABC’s library of climate alarmism, here we have yet another ‘polar bears are doomed’ story to add to the millions we have seen already (none of which have, or will, come true).

But so what if none of these apocalyptic prophesies ever come to pass? The ABC, and its nauseating coterie of Greeny-Lefty, inner-city, bike-riding, latte-sipping, sandal-wearing, basket-weaving, yoghurt-knitting, pro-Palestinian, “Fuck Tony Abbott” supporting, Ultimo-squatting trendoids, cares about the climate, and it constantly needs to demonstrate this by publishing this kind of crap.

And just to ram the point home, the article is accompanied by an oh-so-cute photo of a polar bear cub, just so all you evil deniers out there can feel really guilty for putting petrol in your car or using electricity generated from coal:

Scientists are warning polar bears in the Arctic could face starvation by the end of the century if sea ice keeps shrinking.

Sea ice projections for the Canadian Arctic Archipelago show global warming could reduce the icy periods polar bears need to hunt and breed each year.

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago is known as the “last ice area” and was thought to be a long-term safe haven for the polar bear.

But researchers said the findings were an early warning sign for the potential impacts of climate change on other Arctic species too.

Dr Andrew Derocher from Canada’s University of Alberta said the region’s icy conditions were crucial for polar bears, but sea ice projections in the area were not positive.

He said the ice models showed the animals could starve if climate change continued on its current trajectory, as it would not only impact upon the bears, but also their prey.

“We know already that other populations further south and in other areas won’t be doing well … but in this area where we thought the ice would persist well into this century [we’ve started] to see serious difficulties,” he said.

“They have a short window in the spring time where they gorge themselves on the fat of seals. The problem is, if you push them too far, they don’t have enough energy stored.

“It’s clear we’re on a trajectory that will result in many populations of polar bears blinking out.” (source)

De-fund the ABC – now.

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Polar bear alarmist investigated for "scientific misconduct"

28 July, 2011 by

Doing OK

Charles Monnett has been one of the leading voices in the claim that “global warming” is causing increased polar bear drownings, in particular this paper here. But, as CBS News reports:

A federal wildlife biologist whose observation in 2004 of presumably drowned polar bears in the Arctic helped to galvanize the global warming movement has been placed on administrative leave and is being investigated for scientific misconduct, possibly over the veracity of that article.

Charles Monnett is an Anchorage-based scientist with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

He has not been informed by the inspector general’s office of any charges or questions related to the scientific integrity of his work, according to Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Monnett was told July 18 that he was being put on leave, pending results of an investigation into “integrity issues.” (source)

H/t to Luboš Motl who has more here. His conclusion:

“It seems increasingly likely that the research backing the global warming doctrine is corrupt at every conceivable level.”

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: ,

Polar bears "having fewer cubs due to global warming"

9 February, 2011 by

Creating the next IPCC report?

Various other commitments means not much going on at Climate Madness Towers today, so I thought I’d post a cuddly polar bear story. You have to hand it to the warmists, they never give up. Even when the general public are sick to the back teeth with hippies banging on about polar bears, they still insist on doing it. Even the bears themselves are sick of it, I expect. From the UK’s moonbat Telegraph and the even moonbattier Louise Gray:

Researchers at the University of Alberta looked at how melting sea ice in the 1990s effected [sic] the breeding success of polar bears.

During the spring and summer months the females are hunting seals on the ice to build up energy for the autumn and winter when they will hibernate for up to eight months and give birth.

The study found the early melting of the ice made it more difficult for the bears to hunt seals successfully and build up energy.

Therefore there is less chance of a successful pregnancy.

In the early 1990s 28 per cent of energy-deprived pregnant polar bears in the Hudson Bay region failed to have even a single cub. (source)

The comments are far more entertaining, like this one from torch12volt:

Time is flying by, the cut and paste queen is at it again, more drivel, still never let the truth get in the way of a very weak story.

Now the Telegraph looks up to Hello as a shining example of quality journalism.

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Merry Christmas: polar bears "not endangered"

24 December, 2010 by

Party on, dudes

But, but, but… polar bears are the poster child of global warming, er, climate change, er, global climate disruption, or something, aren’t they? They’re the canary in the coal mine for the planet aren’t they? Here’s the national, taxpayer funded broadcaster, the ABC, just a few days ago:

A recent study that suggests there is still a slim chance to save the animals from global warming.

Researchers say the polar bear population this year appears to be in even worse shape than last year.

…

Researchers have predicted that by the year 2050, only a third of the world’s 22,000 polar bears might be left. (source)

And here’s the über-alarmist Sydney Morning Herald, also just a few days ago:

Climate change is pushing Arctic mammals to mate with cousin species, in a trend that could be pushing the polar bear and other iconic animals towards extinction, biologists said.

“Rapidly melting Arctic sea ice imperils species through interbreeding as well as through habitat loss,” they said in a commentary appearing in the British science journal Nature.

“As more isolated populations and species come into contact, they will mate, hybrids will form, and rare species are likely to go extinct.” (source)

If your sources of news consisted solely of the ABC and the Fairfax press, which they do for many in Australia, you would be forgiven for thinking that polar bears are in dire risk of extinction, because of your evil SUV and your incandescent light bulbs, right? At least Barack Obama has made one sensible decision in his disastrous presidency (strangely not reported by either the SMH or the ABC):

The Obama administration is sticking with a George W. Bush-era decision to deny polar bears endangered species status.

In a court filing Wednesday, the Fish and Wildlife Service defended the previous administration’s decision to give the polar bear the less-protective “threatened” species designation, a move that will frustrate environmentalists [Excellent news! I just love frustrated environmentalists! – Ed] who hoped for stronger protections under the Endangered Species Act.

FWS Director Rowan Gould said the 2008 “threatened” listing was made “following careful analysis of the best scientific information, as required by the ESA.” [Pity they can’t employ the same rigour with climate science – Ed]

Listing the polar bear as “endangered” as a result of global warming could open the door to using the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gases, an outcome the Obama administration has opposed. (source)

Odd last comment, since the Obama administration clearly doesn’t seem to mind the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulating greenhouse gases without congressional approval…

Filed Under: Climate Tagged With: ,

Recipe for a climate scare story

26 May, 2010 by

Is the IPCC a corrupt political alarmist machine? Do polar bears shit in the Arctic?

OK folks, hope you’re all ready to put on your chef’s hats and venture to the kitchen to concoct a climate scare story. Firstly, we must have the right ingredients:

  • cuddly furry creature (in this case, a polar bear will do nicely)
  • a large serving of climate change hysteria
  • a tipping point or two (to taste)
  • a half-baked computer model
  • generous helping of hyperbole

Mix them all together, et voilà! Now feed to a desperate mainstream media organisation (the BBC) which will swallow anything.

Climate change will trigger a dramatic and sudden decline in the number of polar bears, a new study has concluded.

The research is the first to directly model how changing climate will affect polar bear reproduction and survival.

Based on what is known of polar bear physiology, behaviour and ecology, it predicts pregnancy rates will fall and fewer bears will survive fasting during longer ice-free seasons.

These changes will happen suddenly as bears pass a ‘tipping point’. [Do not pass Go, do not collect $200]

…

Dr [Peter] Molnar, Professor Andrew Derocher and colleagues from the University of Alberta and York University, Toronto focused on the physiology, behaviour and ecology of polar bears, and how these might change as temperatures increase.

“We developed a model for the mating ecology of polar bears. The model estimates how many females in a population will be able to find a mate during the mating season, and thus get impregnated.”

…

“In both cases, the expected changes in reproduction and survival were non-linear,” explains Dr Molnar.

“That is, as the climate warms, we may not see any substantial effect on polar bear reproduction and survival for a while, up until some threshold is passed, at which point reproduction and survival will decline dramatically and very rapidly.”

<sarc> I wonder if these computer models are as good as the IPCC’s climate models? </sarc>

Read the rest here, although to be honest, I really wouldn’t bother. (h/t WUWT)

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