Global warming opens up Northwest Passage

nicodemus31

So, will the reduced carbon footprint of shipping using the shortened route be welcomed by the greenies??

Liz Brown

What a load of cobblers - didn't Marco Polo or someone of his ilk sail round it in distant times? Remember that the hockey stick graph is unsubstantiated as well, based in part in ignoring the medœval warming entirely. I absolutely REFUSE to worry about this claptrap

John Page

If there is global warming, why would ice in Antarctica be increasing? Actually CO2 is increasing but temperatures aren't.

Dave

This would be the same accelerating global warming that has, errrr, not taken place since 1998 and has turned into cooling for the last two years? Now if you talked about arctic ocean current circulation you might have something worth writing about.

Tim Hedges

Amundsen sailed through the NW pasage ice free

Bruce Robertson

Amundsen sailed through in 1906.

Mike, Brighton

As Booker constantly points out the level of arctic ice is INCREASING and the planet is currently COOLING. Somewhat at odds with the flawed global warming hypothesis.
Been a cold summer hasn't it!

Draughtsman

Why are the trends worrying? Is there some optimum temperature for the planet which we have surpassed then? It is undeniable that the planet has warmed and cooled on a number of occasions since the end of the last ice age. There is nothing mankind can or should do except to adapt to it. A rise in CO2 has been observed along with a warming, until 1998 that is, and so two and two have been put together to make five. Why not just accept that these climate variations are going to occur naturally and live with it?

Climate Septic

It's called the North West Passage for a reason. All that is happening is that the world is cycling through a long term pattern. Commentators above are right, there has been no warming in recent years, the hockey stick is a a fake and there is no such thing as anthropogenic warming. One can only hope that politicians can be persuaded to recognise the reality before they do too much damage. Al Gore is more dangerous than Bin Laden. It will be a close run thing as to whose disciples will get closest to returning the Western World to the dark Ages.

Thomas Cussans

It is depressing that the Spec. should fall for this tosh. First, just when did these records begin? In the mid-19th century at the earliest and then only very haphazardly. Second, even in the brief period of systematic exploration of the Arctic, which dates back only to the 16th century, there have always been what sealers and the like called 'good years' for ice – meaning very little – and 'bad years' – meaning a lot.

Thus on the basis of almost no reliable evidence you actively encourage politicians to meddle and interfere yet more.

Please don't write any more of this half-witted tripe.

Ben

It's nothing new. The Northwest Passage was navigable in 11 different years during the 20th century, including 1906 by Amundsen as mentioned above.

Chris

My word. Every comment on this alarmist nonsense so far is sensible! Read Bjorn Lomborg, Sean, taking particular note of the fact that there are upsides and downsides to climate change (which is always happening, and isn't, as others have noted, happening in the way the warmenist liars' programme posits.

Mark R

Would this article have maybe been prompted by a release from a AGW campaigning group? If so be aware how they mislead. Such releases often use the phrase "since records began" which you use in the article. However I think you'll find that this only actually mean records over the last 20 years - i.e. comprehensive satellite imagery. Before this they can only ever be piecemeal and very partial records. For example, if you consider the North East passage we know this was regularly used by Soviet prison ships in the 1930s but it then iced up in the 1940s (see Robert Conquest "The Great Terror")

TrevorH

Who is Sean Martin - who ever he is he needs a brain transplant ... not least for all the reasons outlined above.

Global temperatures have declined in recent years the last global av temp disclosed was LOWER than when NASAs Hansen started all this back in the '80s.

just how much ice is there in the water compared with in the air? And if glabal water currents change and afect water temperatures then just which is more likely to affect the ice?

Climate changes .... ever herd of the medieval warm period Mr Martin?

Marian C

I'm with Liz Brown in believing its 'a load of cobblers'. The planet has been heating up and cooling down for millions of years there is nothing new about this.

Frank Pulley

Who Sean Martin? Can any idiot write alarmist blog posts here?

dilys

Can we finally dump this warming nonsense and get on with wahet really matters?
Obesity is easier than global warming because we can all recognise a fat person. Are they still fat if the are of a darker hue?
When's the Millenium Bug striking? have I missed it? I'm bored with waiting.

Jon

I'm really surprised that the Speccie has published this tosh.
Shame on you. I thought you were better than this.

Ian C

There is nothing global about it. This particular piece of warming is peculiarly 'local' - to the Arctic. The winds have blown the ice to the south and east and northern Europe is having one of its worst summers in 90 oddd years.

Journalists should stay well away from unproven theories and heed the sceptical line until the subject matters ceases to be theory and politically motivated.

Chris Miller

Extremely disappointed in this crap appearing in the Spectator. Read this Mr Martin, and please stop reporting alarmist bollocks as fact : http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/open-water-circling-north-pole-not-quite/

Travis Bickle

Sean, wouldn't worry mate, we're apparently all about to disappear into a man made black hole sometime next Wednesday.

ps this sort of global warming alarmist nonsense belongs on the Guardian, not here.

Phil Hardy

Poorly researched drivel like this piece have no place in a magazine that wishes to be regarded as a serious and respected vehicle for news and comment.

Ten minutes with Google would have given the author the facts about Admundsen etc. that have been mentioned to above and that should have given him the clue that his analysis was not complete or worthy of publication.

If the Spectator is going to put out piffle like this, how much credibility can be given to its other articles where independent research is not possible?

Dave B

"Global Warming" has nothing to do with these changes in the Artic.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/15/ocean_currents_melt_planet/

Disappointed to see this nonsense on The Spectator's website.

MartinW

Sean Martin clearly doesn't believe in facts. His piece looks as though it could have been lifted directly from "Costing-the-Earth", a BBC Radio 4 series that has cast aside truth and science, and prefers sound-bite warmist propaganda.
Like others, I am extremely surprised that The Spectator felt that Sean Martin's piece was worthy of publication.

Mike, Brighton

Sean. Not going well is it mate? Stick to Comment is Free from now on....and not here.

shaun c

Tut.Tsk Tsk. Oh dear.
Shakes head and moves on.

Quid Novi

Where's all this global warming? My sun lounger has been gathering cobwebs in the garage since the end of July.

Commondog

"The sea route along the North American coast has been blocked for hundreds of years by a pack of Arctic ice."

So prior to that then, the planet was in eco-meltdown?

Get a grip Sean.

jim

Corection
They don't call it global warming anymore now it's just climate change since there hasn't ben any actual warming going on

Hereford

I do not believe in man made climate change. I am certain that the climate has changed in cycles of varying lengths for all of the worlds history.

I believe that the science that posits MMGW is flawed.

But I also believe that a species we need to control our consumption and not be profligate with the finite natural resources our planet can provide. Thus, before it was a new religion, I recycled, used environmentally friendly cleaning products, supported save the whale campaigns etc.

I also believe that this scam may have (at least) two positive purposes.

It has certainly been useful in scaring people into reducing their consumption footprint (note I do not use Carbon).

It has also stimulated a far greater level of research and development of alternative fuel sources to petroleum. Have you noticed that petrol and gas seem to occur almost exclusively under land masses governed by totalitarian, sometimes stoneage states? :o)

If this scam allows us, in 10, 20 or 50 years to stick our middle finger up to the oil producing nations then it will have achieved something positive.

It's still a scam though, but possibly a geopolitical one.

Freddy

"Have you noticed that petrol and gas seem to occur almost exclusively under land masses governed by totalitarian, sometimes stoneage states?"

Not really it's just that these states do such a lousy job of building modern functioning economies that they haven't got around to using their supplies yet. The US, for example, had loadsa oil and gas 100 years ago, but it got stuck in and used it. They still have plenty, ubt it is all tied up in ecocrazy legislation these days.

Entirely agree with you about desirability of energy independence though.

TDK

The sea ice at the Artic has huge seasonal variation. In recent years the low was 5Mkm² and the high 15Mkm²

In other words in a typical year 66%+ of the ice shelf will calve and melt.

nigel jones

Hereford,

I don't see that it's at all sensible to sell something on a false prospectus. There are certainly good reasons for lessening dependence on imported fuels, and therefore a convincing case can be made on an honest basis for developing policy in that direction. Scares arising from spurious propaganda, which will be seen for what it is, will backfire badly.

Max Kaye

Dear Speccie, If you paid good money for Sean Martin's article, do ask for a refund.

Allan@Aberdeen

I used to subscribe to The Spectator and now I remember why I stopped.

Hereford

Nigel, I agree absolutely. I would rather the truth be told. But I am prepared to accept the outcome if it occurs. I suppose the defence from anyone trying to peddle this scam to achieve positive ends would be that education and persuasion isn't working.

I also believe this scam will join DDT, The Population Bomb, The New Ice Age etc in the dustbin of history. There will come a point, like the other scares, when the world will just quietly stop talking about MMGW.

But I still say, I would relish the opportunity to say to a range of states, "You know what? Stick your oil up your jacksie, we don't need it any more."

Robert Edwards

Notice how graphs of 'greenhouse' gases conveniently omit water vapour, it alone is responsible for 99.99% of the warming effect.

CO2 is responsible for some 0.06% of atmospheric warming, if CO2 doubles in concentration it will absolutely no effect.

The greenhouse effect is a fallacy, the trapped air in a car does is not heated by trapped radiation, if that were the case we'd see cars turning into InfraRed MASERS.

If CO2 bothers you, plant a tree.

Old Holborn

I hear the polar ice caps are melting on Mars as well.

No doubt a fighting fund (using my tax money) "must" be launched to save Mars as well.

Al Gore

Do ants change the temp of the bulb in an an farm? Hot hot is the sun to the 10th degree compared to last year the year before ect? How much doe the earth weigh? Unitl you have an exact wait not questimate and Exact way to measure SHUT UP!. What are the impacts of volcanos on the earth? What temp change do they cause? Salt water in the sea? But the ants change the temp of the bulb in a fram right...right... Just say anything but we made the problem and I'll listen...

Kelly Manning

There doesn't seem to be much respect shown here for the memory of the British Navy's lost Franklin Expedition, or the lost ships and seamen sent to discover what happened to Franklin's expedition and to try and find a deep water commercial passage through the Canadian Archipelago.

Amundsen emerged from the easiest, non-commercial, NW passage in 1906, after entering in 1903. He sailed through short, narrow, summer time cracks in the pack ice, along a shallow water southern route. Amundsen only traveled part of the way each summer before becoming locked in ice again.

Until last year every NW passage surface transit involved threading a way through pack ice cracks, or involved an icebreaker actively breaking ice, at least as an escort.

In 1969/September the Manhattan repeatedly got stuck trying to ram through pressure ridges with its "ice ramming bow", and might have remained stuck for the winter without the assistance of an icebreaker sent by Canada as an uninvited and unwelcome escort.

The USA icebreaker sent with the Manhattan developed engine trouble and was of no help.

At the moment the Parry Channel and McClure Strait are clear sailing for bulk carriers which are too large to sail the English Channel. No special construction details are required.

They don't even require the type of icebreaker escort that merchant ship convoys still rely on for navigating the Gulf of St. Lawrence in winter.

Low risk transit of the deep water, international, NW passage in convoys escorted by icebreakers has been possible for extended periods this summer and last.

There is a business opportunity here.

The opening of the NW passage means that ships too large to use the Panama or Suez canals can travel between Europe and Asia, saving 6 million meters in travel distance over smaller ships using the canals. Time and money to be saved.