Lies and/or Sloppy Science

I was confused by all sorts of web links to horror stories arctic ice melt, so, knowing the high BS factor in anything "climate," a favoreite topic of grant givers, I thought to look into the reports of complete vanishing of ice by 2015 and disappearance of seals.  Even though I have long smelled BS rotting about global cooling, warming, change, I still had to take seriously messages of doom.

I had to make this entry because this is what I found:

If you apply 8th grade analyses, well 8th in my day, so let us say college-level analysis, you can see that the 2013 ice extent is within the standard deviation and was, until June, dead on the average The extent of the ice is not continually decreasing, as the graph shows. We are talking about July for the last two years that are a bit off the average.

Now, check out the language the went along with this graph. At the top of the web site leaves the impression of a crisis:

While the rate of Arctic sea ice loss is normally fastest during July, the warmest month of the year, ice loss was even faster than usual over the first two weeks of July 2013. As a result, on July 15 extent came within 540,000 square kilometers (208,000 square miles) of that seen in 2012 on the same date. The ice loss is dominated by retreat on the Atlantic side of the Arctic, including the East Greenland, Kara and Laptev seas, and Baffin Bay. In the Beaufort and Chukchi seas and much of the Eurasian coast, the ice cover remains fairly extensive, especially compared to recent summers. Compared to the 1981 to 2010 average, ice extent on July 15, 2013 was 1.06 million square kilometers (409,000 square miles) below average.

OMG: fastest, retreat, even faster....   Then there is a section of ice "in context," a curious thing to add: 

During the first two weeks of July, ice extent declined at a rate of 132,000 square kilometers (51,000 square miles) per day. This was 61% faster than the average rate of decline over the period 1981 to 2010 of 82,000 square kilometers (32,000 square miles) per day. The fast pace of ice loss was dominated by retreat in the Kara and East Greenland seas, where the ice loss rate from July 1 to 12 was -16,409 and -17,678 square kilometers (-6,336 and -6,826 square miles) per day, respectively. The Laptev Sea ice retreated at about half that rate, at -8,810 square kilometers (-3,402 square miles) per day.  In contrast, on the Pacific side, sea ice has been slow to retreat. During the first part of July, the rate of ice loss in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas was only -3,375 and -6,829 square kilometers (-1,303 and -2,637 square miles), respectively.

Now, go back to the graph.  We hare having a normal ice "extent," as jargon has it.  What the hell is the panic about?  Ice in June has been dead on the average. For two weeks in July is is less. Elsewhere on the site is an explanation that winds have changed and blow ice from shore, as I reported here years ago. 

Yes, things change, so?  The sun is setting much more to the north than in the past; sun spot activity is out of the average.  Yes, the universe changes. The implication, here, is that OMG we need laws and grants to study the ice melt. 

What is downplayed, of course, are the throw away comments about the Pacific side having not noticeable ice loss. 

I generally accept that there is massive fraud involved in the climate scam, but I have come to see that most people have been programmed with a spin that must be correct, so,  clear facts are presented in what it a biased manner.  This is a passive fraud, though part of an active one, and does not involve logic, which is subordinate to religion

The report of this site should be: 

 "Interesting, the ice melt in early July of last year was outside the standard deviation, there being some wind changes, but this year is the variation remains within the deviation, though for two weeks in July, the extent of ice decreased faster than normal."