Friday, January 05, 2007

Global Warming Fear Mongering at USA Today

Despite cautions from climatologists about assigning too much importance to short term weather events, USA Today is shrieking that the current mild winter is a sign of the end times on planet Earth, and they're using a loaded chart as a prop.

Below is the alarming chart that heads USA Today's Drudge-linked story. "Warm Winter Wreaks Havoc."



The alarming caption reads, "The Earth's surface temperature has risen by more than 1°F since accurate measurements began in 1860."

What USA Today doesn't mention is that the phenomenon known as "The Little Ice Age" ended around 1850. Surface temperatures were about 1°C lower during this period, or a bit more than 1°F.