More foolishness/fraud from the sea ice "experts"

More alarmist BS: Sudden ice loss in Arctic could make '08 worst ever

Desjardins says there's also a "very good likelihood" that the best-known route of the Northwest Passage -- from north of Baffin Island to the Beaufort Sea south of Victoria Island -- will soon become fully navigable for the third consecutive summer, a year after the fabled shipping conduit drew global attention by opening more completely than ever.

Hold it--the mainstream media just told us repeatedly that the Northwest Passage opened in 2007 for the "first time in memory". (As long as no one can remember years like 1906, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1957, 1969, 1977, 1984, 1988, and 2000).

How'd we get to THREE consecutive summers so soon?
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Arctic ice melt increased for a few days, then decreased

'It does not really matter whether 2007 or 2008 is the worst year on record for Arctic ice,' Maslowski said. 'The crucial point is that ice is clearly not building up enough over winter to restore cover and that when you combine current estimates of ice thickness with the extent of the ice cap, you get a very clear indication that the Arctic is going to be ice-free in summer in five years. And when that happens, there will be consequences.'

But the graph below shows that the ice actually DID build up more last winter than it has in several years:



...and the Aug 11 update here shows that sea ice extent was still running more than 3/4 of a million square kilometers HIGHER than on the same date last year.

Finally, check out this picture comparing sea ice extent for 8/12/07 and 8/12/08--there's clearly more ice this summer.