- "Within a decade, there will be no more 'Snows of Kilimanjaro.'" Al Gore - An Inconvenient Truth
- "He took a photo of himself on the summit of Kilimanjaro in 1970 next to a 20ft high glacier at Uhuru Point. And 29 years later, his daughter was at the same point and there was only a trace of ice left. Maybe the people climbed up there and carted the ice off. I don't know. " Senator Hilary Clinton
- By the year 2020, there will be no snow left on Kilimanjaro, according to scientists, because of global warming, deforestation, human encroachment, all of that.' - CNN Correspondent Jeff Koinange 08/20/2004
- “As the photograph shows here, the snows of Kilimanjaro may soonexist only in literature" Senator John McCain
H/T: American Thinker
Uh-huh
Not so fast......Kilimanjaro is an example of when 'scientific consensus' does not equal scientific truth.
The Center for Science and Public Policy issued a white paper refuting the claim of melting glaciers at Kilimanjaro as evidence of human based global warming.
You can read the full document HERE
The cliff note version for those without copious amounts of free time can be found HERE
In short: The glaciers of Kilimanjaro have been receding since the end of the 19th century due to a dramatic climate shift. George Kaser in 2004 conducted a behind the scenes study of Kilimanjaro's ice melt and his team concluded that the glaciers retreat from maximum extent started shortly before Hans Meyers and Ludwig Purtscheller visited the summit for the first time in 1889. Satellite temperature observations for the region around Kilimanjaro indicate that there has been a slow decline in temperatures since records began in 1979. 28 years of cooling do not lead to glacial melting.
A study published in 2006 by AGU - American Geophysical Union, adds additional information and support to the idea that the glacial retreat in Kilimanjaro is a natural cycle.
Rapid retreat of slope glaciers at the beginning of the 20th century implies a strong departure from steady state conditions during this time. This strong imbalance can only be explained by a sudden shift in climate, which is not observed in the early 20th century. Results suggest glaciers on Kilimanjaro are merely remnants of a past climate rather than sensitive indicators of 20th century climate change.
We are not culprits, but simply witnesses to the glacier's decline, observers of the ebb and flow of the endless cycle of nature. I fully expect snow and glacier ice when I summit Kilimanjaro in 2008, despite Al's dire prediction.
A more easier to read version is posted on Ancora Imparo.
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