The global warming fear-mongering has been going on for some time. Way back in 1998, the BBC was peddling the scare-stories with which we're now tiresomely familiar.

The story, published in November '98, warned skiiers that they should make the most of the snow this season, because it wouldn't be around for long.

"Swiss scientists said 90% of alpine glaciers are expected to melt within the next half century, causing floods, landslides and threatening economic disaster for tens of thousands of permanent inhabitants of alpine uplands."

..and there was more...

"A research organisation from Germany reported that although winter temperatures in the German Alps are not expected to rise as much as summer temperatures, the greenhouse effect will mean that rain will fall in many areas where snow fell before, making skiing impossible"

Oh no! The litany of woe went on..

"Some popular Italian ski resorts could be without snow by 2008 if winter temperatures continue to rise at their present rate, according to European scientists. A report circulated at a meeting at Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy of international experts on alpine climate change said that skiing may no longer be possible in at least a dozen Italian resorts, situated at 1,500 metres or lower. This would include Cortina d'Ampezzo and Courmayeur"

CF is pleased to report that he is off this morning for his second skiing break this year in .. err .. Courmayeur.

When he was there in February, the pistes were near-perfect, completely covered in deep, thick snow. Every roof had a least 4 feet of snow piled upon it. On the last day there, it snowed heavily all day.

According to the latest reports, it has snowed more since then. The webcam picture above is from Monday this week. Looks like a bit of skiing might still be 'possible', doesn't it? Looks like enough snow to be going on with, eh?

Skiing 'no longer possible'? Like most of the climate scary stories:

Bollocks.

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The Maldives government are worried about the nasty climate change monster submerging their islands. So worried, the President of the Maldives recently held a Cabinet meeting underwater - for fuck's sake - to draw attention to their supposedly soggy plight.

Nils-Axel Mörner is a scientist, a 'sea-level specialist'. He's been to the Maldives to investigate, not once but six times.  

Guess what? He thinks the Maldives will be OK. Being a kindly sort of scientist, he's written to the President of the Maldives on several occasions to set him right. The President, perhaps miffed at being contradicted in his doom-mongering media stunts, has not replied.

Frustrated, Nils has now published an open letter, printed in the Spectator and reproduced over at the Coffee House.

You really should read the whole letter, but some of the tastiest extracts (with CF's emphases) include:

"Dear Mr President,

You are obviously very concerned about the effect that sea level rises may have on the Maldives .. you have even declared that ‘we are going to die’ if the climate change summit in Copenhagen fails. I am now writing with.. good news. The scientific side of the situation is quite different to that which you imagine. You are, in fact, not going to die.

The IPCC vision is a rise that by the year 2100 may amount to between 30cm and 50cm. This is based on model calculations. Our figure is a 5cm rise, plus or minus 15cm. In a newspaper article, you have suggested that sea levels may rise by between one and eight metres. Those figures, however, do not concur with the physics and known rates of ice melting. So those figures must be dismissed as impossible.

Impossible? Mr President must be pleased: his worst imaginings are impossible. Nils-Axel has been looking into things.
 

"I have been on no fewer than six different field expeditions to the Maldives. .. We have always found the same thing: a total stability for the last 30 years, preceded by a 20cm drop in sea level in the 1970s.

The people of the Maldives had no problems surviving the 17th century, which was 50cm higher than now. Nor the last century, where it rose by 20cm. This bodes well for their prospects of surviving the next change.

Well. Mr President must be feeling a bit foolish. All that panic for nothing. Or was it for nothing? Nils-Axel thinks it might have been for another reason:

"Could it be because there is money involved? If you inhabit a tiny island and can convince the world that its very existence is under threat because of the polluting policies of the West, the industrialised nations will certainly respond. The money is likely to flow in more quickly than the ocean will rise.

Surely not? Surely the President was pure in his motives, and worried only for his beloved people. In which case, Nils-Axel has good news:

"So, Mr President, you and your ministers in the Maldives really don’t need to worry .. You should pass on this message to the people of the Maldives. It is high time to release them from this terrible psychological burden."

Set his people straight. Let them stop worrying. Do you think Mr President will do that?

Yeah, right.

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