Antarctic sea ice growth

Using the logic of former Climate Commission Tim Flannery; who infamously stated Adelaide would run out of water by 2009, Perth would become the world's first 21st century ghost metropolis (2004) and bush fires are caused by emissions pollution - current data shows the emergency is over. That would also mean any bush fires pre-global warming are an abnormality but unfortunately bush fires have been an ever present danger since before European settlement.

What would Flannery make of NASA's recent announcement of record growth in Antarctic sea ice The 2013 Antarctic sea ice growth is the highest since measurements began in 1979; does this mean global warming has been halted? The term global warming is currently obsolete - climate change is now the preferred term as global warming has appeared to slow or maybe even slightly decline (unlikely) but scientists are at a loss to adequately explain this phenomenon.

The sea ice growth is a mystery, scientists suspect possible changes in air currents could explain the growth or possible cooler ocean currents carrying cooler surface water to the southern continent.

The Black Saturday bush fires caused 173 deaths in Victoria in February 2009, Flannery made his unfortunate statement - “My country is still in shock at the loss of so many lives. But inevitably we will look for lessons from this natural tragedy. The first, I fear, is that we must anticipate more such terrible blazes, for the world's addiction to burning fossil fuels goes on unabated. And there is now no doubt that emissions pollution is laying the preconditions necessary for more such blazes.”

The Climate Commission was recently decommissioned by the Abbott government; Professor Flannery has relaunched the commission as the Climate Council, now a community funded organisation. Flannery feels the organisation can run on a tighter budget; the $5.4 million spent over the past five years would then seem excessive since no actual research is undertaken.

Am I a climate denier? I don't think so, I am however skeptical of political appointees made by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. From Julia's choice of Peter Slipper as speaker of the house, Sharran Burrow - the former President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions appointed to Fair Work Australia, Nova Peris Kneebone and Tim Flannery.

Unfortunately, all of these people have been involved in scandals, impropriety or incompetence. Flannery was hired to scare us into submission to support the carbon tax; now the carbon tax is to be repealed - there is no need for a political spin organisation, the funds can now be diverted to actual research.