first published as weblog one hundred and thirty four on Sunday 14th May 2006
Per Einarsson was shaking with anger. He raised his fists. “I tell you, no!” he yelled, and pounded the table.
Standing opposite him, Drake was very red in the face, clenching his teeth. “Per,” he said, “I am asking you to consider the realities.”
“You are not!” Einarsson said, pounding the table again. “The reality is what you do not want me to publish!”
“Now Per – ”
“The reality,” he said, “is that in Iceland the first half of the twentieth century was warmer than the second half, as in Greenland.* The reality is that in Iceland, most glaciers lost mass after 1930 because summers warmed by .6 degrees Celsius, but since then the climate has become colder. The reality is that since 1970 these glaciers have been steadily advancing. They have regained half the ground that was lost earlier. Right now, eleven are surging. That is the reality, Nicholas! And I will not lie about it.”
“No one has suggested you do,” Drake said, lowering his voice and glancing at his newly arrived audience. “I am merely discussing how you word your paper, Per.”
Einarsson raised a sheet of paper. “Yes, and you have suggested some wording – ”
“Merely a suggestion – ”
“That twists truth!”
“Per, with due respect, I feel you are exaggerating – ”
“Am I?” Einarsson turned to the others and began to read. “This is what he wants me to say: ‘The threat of global warming has melted glaciers throughout the world, and in Iceland as well. Many glaciers are shrinking dramatically, although paradoxically others are growing. However, in all cases recent extremes in climate variability seem to be the cause…blah…blah…blah…og svo framvegis.’ ” He threw the paper down. “That is simply not true.”
“It’s just the opening paragraph. The rest of your paper will amplify.”
“The opening paragraph is not true.”
“Of course it is. It refers to ‘extremes in climate variability.’ No one can object to such vague wording.”
“Recent extremes. But in Iceland these effects are not recent.”
“Then take out ‘recent.’ ”
“That is not adequate,” Einarsson said, “because the implication of this paragraph is that we are observing the effects of global warming from greenhouse gases. Whereas in fact we are observing local climate patterns that are rather specific to Iceland and are unlikely to be related to any global pattern.”
“And you can say so in your conclusion.”
“But this opening paragraph will be a big joke among Arctic researchers. You think Motoyama or Sigurosson will not see through this paragraph? Or Hicks? Watanabe? Ísaksson? They will laugh and call me compromised. They will say I did it for grants.”
“But there are other considerations,” Drake said soothingly. “We must all be aware there are disinformation groups funded by industry – petroleum, automotive – who will seize on the report that some glaciers are growing, and use it to argue against global warming. That is what they always do. They snatch at anything to paint a false picture.”
“How the information is used is not my concern. My concern is to report the truth as best I can.”
“Very noble,” Drake said. “Perhaps not so practical.”
“I see. And you have brought the source of funding right here in the form of Mr. Morton, so I do not miss the point?”
“No, no, Per," Drake said hastily. “Please, don’t misunderstand - ”
“I understand only too well. What is he doing here?” Einarsson was furious. “Mr. Morton? Do you approve of what I am being asked to do by Mr. Drake?”
It was at this point that Moreton’s cell phone rang, and with ill-conceived relief, he flipped it open. Einarsson stared at the floor, sucking in his breath, still furious. Drake stuck his hands in his pockets, looked at the roof of the tent.
Drake said, “Look, Per, I feel we have gotten off on the wrong foot.”
“Not at all,” Einarsson said coldly. “We understand each other only too well. If you withdraw your support, you withdraw your support.”
Note
* P.Chylek, et al. 2004, “Global warming and the Greenland ice sheet,” Climatic Change 63 201-21. “Since 1940…data have undergone predominantly a cooling trend…The Greenland ice sheet and coastal regions are not following the current global warming trend.”
