Global Warming: An Unfortunate Misnomer

Amid all the global warming controversy, it's not hard not to notice when it's colder and there's more snow than in previous years. So imagine my mother-in-law's surprise a year or two back when a cashier informed her that people misunderstand the term "global warming": it doesn't mean the planet is getting warmer, it means the planet is getting colder.[1][2] In honor of that confusing statement, I took many of the graphs and images produced by global warming proponents and doctored them to show global cooling. Since it's April Fools' Day, I'm providing them for your enjoyment.

Global temperatures have declined over the last 150 years.

Global temperatures show a sudden decline in the last 100 years.

10 different reconstructions of global temperature changes over the last 1000 years all show a sudden and recent decline in global temperature.

Global temperatures have been gradually cooling over the last 8000 years.

Global temperatures have been gradually cooling over the last 5.5 million years.

Global temperatures have been gradually cooling over the last 50 million years (i.e. since the time of the dinosaurs).

Global temperatures have been gradually cooling over the last 100 million years.

Across most of the Antarctic the temperature decreased, in some areas cooling approaching –2 degrees Celsius during the period.

Over a ten year period, global temperatures decreased by an average of –0.48 °C.

The thickness of glaciers around the world has been steadily increasing over the last fifty years.

Due to the buildup of glacial ice, sea level has been steadily decreasing over the last 130 years.

Virtually every climate change model predicts increasingly colder temperatures over the next century.

---

Notes:

[1] Perhaps all this confusion is why they've adopted the catch-all term "global climate change" or, as the White House science adviser recently decided, "global climate disruption". See http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/16/white-house-global-warming-global-climate-disruption/.

[2] I'm reminded of other contradictory or misleading naming schemes, such as Greenland and Iceland.

[3] "Proxy data" includes tree rings, corals, ice cores, and historical records.

Image attributions:

Instrumental Temperature Record is derived from an image created by  Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Instrumental Temperature Record_png. Links to the source data and a description of the methodology can also be found there. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

Departures in temperature from the 1961 to 1990 average is derived from Figure 1b of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report. © 2001 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

1000 Year Temperature Comparison is derived from an image created by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:1000 Year Temperature Comparison png. Links to the source data used in constructing the graph can also be found there. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

Holocene Temperature Variations is derived from an image created by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Holocene Temperature Variations Rev_png. Links to the source data and a description of the methodology can also be found there. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

Five Million Years of Climate Change from Sediment Cores is by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Five Myr Climate Change Rev png. Note that this image has not been altered from the original.

Sixty-Five Million Years of Climate Change is by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:65 Myr Climate Change Rev png. Note that this image has not been altered from the original.

Phanerozoic Climate Change is by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Phanerozoic Climate Change Rev png. Note that this image has not been altered from the original.

Antarctic Temperature Trend 1981–2007 is derived from an image created by NASA and the NOAA, available at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8239. NASA images are not copyrighted unless noted (see image use guidelines here). My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the licensing terms.

1995 to 2004 Global Mean Temperatures is derived from an image created by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Global Warming Map jpg. Links to the source data and a description of the methodology can also be found there. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

Average Glacier Thickness is derived from an image created by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Glacier Mass Balance png. Links to the source data and a description of the methodology can also be found there. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

Average Change in Sea Level is derived from an image created by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Recent Sea Level Rise png. Links to the source data and a description of the methodology can also be found there. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

Global Climate Change Predictions is derived from an image created by Robert A. Rohde, available at http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/File:Global Warming Predictions png. Links to the source data and a description of the methodology can also be found there. My version is used in a humorous and parodic manner and thus does not violate the terms of copyright.

DISCLAIMER: All images presented herein are digitally altered to produce a parody of the original work. They do not represent accurate scientific data; in fact, they deliberately distort it with humorous intent. Where appropriate, the original creators of the images retain their copyright.