Regarding the From the Hill colum, by Colin Mayes, in the April 12, Shuswap Market News.
“Canadian Arctic sea ice reached record low in Summer 2012.”
The above headline and article appear on the Environment Canada, Canadian Ice Service website, in stark contrast to Colin Mayes’ statement in his article based on unverifiable information from the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI).
His assertion that “Arctic ice has made a comeback, and arctic temperatures have returned to normal lows,” is unverifiable as no such information, article, or press release from the Danish Meteorological Institute can be located on their website.
Their website does contain many references to concerns about climate change, and monitoring and research underway to prepare for the future climate.
If Mr. Mayes had shopped more locally for his information he would have readily found the Canadian Ice Service article stating: “Arctic sea ice reached record-breaking low extents during summer 2012. In Northern Canadian Waters, during summer 2012, minimum ice coverage of 8.4 per cent was recorded for the week of September 10, breaking the previous Canadian Arctic record set in 2011 (9.4 per cent).”
The graph that goes with the article shows a significant reduction in sea ice coverage in the last 15 years.
Mr. Mayes had to overlook Canadian data and look far and wide to find information, if indeed he found information at all, to misrepresent to support his tenuous theory. The DMI had made no statements that agree with Mr. Mayes assertion.
Their data has been taken and interpreted to suit the needs of a government that has backed out of the Kyoto Accord, promoted the Enbridge pipeline, and reduced environmental monitoring and protection.
Keith Cox