Shameless BBC still peddling porkies for greens

This time it's the story of a City lawyer cum environmentalist called Lewis Gordon Pugh, who has gone for a dip at the North Pole "to highlight the effects of climate change". Mr Pugh's website shows him to be a man with no qualms about blowing his own trumpet. He describes his ability to swim in cold water thusly:

As soon as I enter cold water my body shunts all my warm blood to my core to protect my vital organs. It then generates incredible heat. However, before I even enter the water, I am able to elevate my core body temperature by as much as 1.4°C (35F). This phenomenon, now known as "anticipatory thermogenises", has to our knowledge not been noted in any other human being.

Golly. A superhuman physical specimen then. So, what about the dip in the Arctic then?

The City lawyer said the swim was a triumph but it was "a tragedy that it's possible to swim at the North Pole. I hope my swim will inspire world leaders to take climate change seriously," he said.

What a load of old twaddle. We've been here before haven't we? Remember this from a few years back?

An American scientist says a large expanse of ice-free water has opened up at the North Pole this year. Dr James McCarthy, an oceanographer, says he found a mile-wide (1.6 km) stretch of open ocean on a recent trip to the region.

Unfortunately for Dr McCarthy (an IPCC man, by the way) and for the attention hungry superman, Mr Pugh, it was pointed out by the late great John Daly that expanses of open sea water had been observed at the poles for decades. They even had a name - polynyas - and they could be tens of miles wide.

 

The McCarthy scare story was widely reported, although some reputable outlets like the New York Times withdrew it once it was shown to be arrant nonsense.  The BBC doesn't seem to operate to these kind of standards though and McCarthy's tall tale is still available on their website. And now, of course, they are recycling it again for the benefit of Mr Pugh and the environmental movement, presumably hoping that no-one will notice that it was utterly debunked seven years ago.

Comments

[John Nicklin]

Thanks for the post, the picture is worth a thousand words as is the reference.

[Trefor Jones]

I too remember that story in the Guardian. I was on holiday when you have time to read what was then a reputable broadsheet. I also remember vividly, the detraction a day or so later and I have been dubious of the whole green movement and media ever since. However, I was beginning to doubt that I had dreamed the whole episode until I came across your article.

Many thanks

[Tony Edwards]

It might also be worth pointing out that the USS Sargo surfaced in a polynya on 9th Feb, 1960 which is just after midwinter