I’m surprised it took this long for a big media outlet to trot this out
Fact check: Contemporary, human-driven warming has different ramifications than past warming
The claim: The Arctic was warmer 6,000 years ago and 90% of glaciers were smaller or absent
A recent blog post shared across social media platforms referenced a paper that reported evidence summer temperatures in the Arctic were warmer some 6,000 years ago, and called the existence of past warm periods an “inconvenient fact” for “climate alarmists.”
“New Study: Arctic Was Much Warmer 6000 Years Ago… 90% Of Glaciers, Ice Caps Smaller Than Present Or Absent,” reads the blog link in an April 11 Facebook post.
The Facebook post received more than 200 interactions. Versions of the blog were also shared on Reddit and Twitter, though the Twitter account was later suspended.
Yeah, that was No Tricks Zone which got the ban hammer for daring to post the truth.
But, see, the claim was “misleading”
But, the post is misleading. Paleoclimatologists, who study the earth’s climate history, have documented periods of warming and cooling. Warm summer temperatures in the period referenced in the paper –the early Holocene period – were caused by normal variation in the Earth’s orbit around the sun, whereas today’s warming trend is driven by human behavior. Thus, there are different long-term ramifications for the two different periods of warming, according to researchers.
See? The current warm period is totally different from all the other warm periods because shut up and stop being a denier.
Despite what the blog post implies, the existence of past warm periods does not contradict modern climate science, Laura Larocca, the study’s lead author and postdoctoral fellow at Northern Arizona University, told USA TODAY.
Of course it doesn’t, because this is a cult
In fact, one of the main goals of Larocca’s study was to place contemporary human-driven Arctic glacier retreat into a long-term context, she said.
In other words, to butter her bread by making claims that this is all your fault.
Larocca emphasized that Arctic summer temperatures due to human-driven global warming are projected to be even warmer by the end of this century than they were thousands of years ago.
That’s prognostication, not science.
Our rating: Missing context
Based on our research, we rate MISSING CONTEXT the claim that the Arctic was warmer 6,000 years ago and 90% of glaciers were smaller or absent. According to researchers, warm temperatures in the early Holocene period were caused by variation in Earth’s orbit around the sun, whereas today’s warming trend is driven by human behavior. Thus, the ramifications of the two periods of warming are different.
But of course. And if you read further in the screed, you’ll see they use only climate cult sources to substantiate their claim that this warm period is totally different. But, don’t call them a cult.
Read: Hotcold Take: This Warm Period Is Totally Different From Other Warm Periods, Per Experts »