Antarctic Sea Ice Undergoes Massive Meltdown In Less Than Two Weeks

Antarctic Sea Ice Undergoes Massive Meltdown In Less Than Two Weeks

According to New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin, that is.  In today’s Science section, Revkin writes that “there has been a slight increase in sea-ice area around Antarctica in recent decades.”  But in a Sept. 21 article, “Scientists Report Severe Retreat of Arctic Ice”, he reported that “sea ice around Antarctica has seen unusual winter expansions recently, and this week is near a record high.”

So if in the space of eleven days Antarctic sea ice has gone from a near-record high to only a slight increase, that indicates massive recent melting, doesn’t it?

How did Revkin miss this?  Perhaps because he’s been focusing on the melting of Arctic sea ice. 

In fact, he’s been so focused on the Arctic that his Sept. 21 article devoted one photo, one headline, and about 500 words to the Arctic melting, while the near-record high in the Antarctic was mentioned only in the very last sentence.

Well, we may not be getting much journalistic balance from the New York Times, but I guess you could say we are, technically, getting both sides of the story.