Pirate's Cove

And decides to pick a fight with the NY Times’ Andrew Revkin, who took umbrage to the use of the word “unprecedented” when discussing the recent Greenland melting in much the same way I did the other day.

Is Recent Greenland Ice Sheet Melting ‘Unprecedented’? Absolutely. Is It ‘Worrisome’? You Bet It Is.

Joe really does not like anyone mentioning that this happens around every 150 years, because that would require a discussion of just why it happens and why this time is any different from the numerous times it has happened in the past before CO2 rose above 350ppm. And, here we go

Another day, another bad New York Times headline:

‘Unprecedented’ Greenland Surface Melt – Every 150 Years?

The New York Times then launched into a critique of:

1. NASA — for what they asserted was an “inaccurate headline” in its press release, “Satellites See Unprecedented Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Melt”;
2. Most of the media coverage — for supposedly “hyperventilating” by accepting NASA’s use of the word “unprecedented”;
3. Me — for using James Hansen’s term “reticent” for one of the NASA scientists who said, “if we continue to observe melting events like this in upcoming years, it will be worrisome.”

And how does Joe respond to this?

I interviewed one of the country’s top climatologists, Michael Mann, by phone, and another, Gavin Schmidt, by email. The bottom line is:

1. People who live in greenhouses definitely should not throw stones
2. Ditto.
3. Not. Mann explained to me that “it’s absolutely worrisome” what’s happening in Greenland already.

So, Joe throws some ad hominums, and is unable to refute that the melting is no “unprecedented” in the least. The best he can do to defend his cult is

The most thorough response comes from NASA’s own Gavin Schmidt in a comment posted on the NY Times story (one he confirmed with me):

The NASA results are clearly unprecedented in the satellite record (and this is obviously what was being referred to), and come at the tail end of a strong increasing trend in summer surface melt area (as seen in data from the Steffen and Tedesco groups).

LOL! “Unprecedented in the satellite record”. How cute. And how completely scientific.

Steven Goddard writes

Joe has declared war on Andy Revkin, and science. Joe is apparently also really pissed off at the author of the NASA Greenland melt  study – who said that this has happened every 150 years for the last 10,000 years.

Joe is also guilty of a big blogging, heck, Internet no no in that he hotlinked the graphic in his story from here.