BRITS ON ICE

Posted at 2:42 p.m. ET

The president elect has said that "global warming" will be a major concern of his administration.  It's also a major concern of the scientific community, some of whose members are starting to wonder whether we've gotten it right at all.

Now some researchers at the University of Edinburgh, which is not exactly a slouch school, are saying that some really chilling things - and I mean chilling - things could happen to the UK, despite all the hoopla about "warming":

It has plagued scientists and politicians for decades, but scientists now say global warming is not the problem.

We are actually heading for the next Ice Age, they claim.

British and Canadian experts warned the big freeze could bury the east of Britain in 6,000ft of ice.

Do not tell Al Gore.  He gets upset easily.  Ditto Barbra and maybe even Barack.

But, according to these scientists, parts of Britain could look like this:

Not exactly a foggy day in London town.

Lead author Thomas Crowley from the University of Edinburgh and Canadian colleague William Hyde say that currently vilified greenhouse gases – such as carbon dioxide – could actually be the key to averting the chill.

Look, there have to be prisons for people like this.  There just have to be.  I hope they don't allow them to teach students.  Do they?

The team says we are approaching a turning point, in the next 10,000 to 100,000 years, which will lead to the new ice sheets smothering much of Europe, Asia and South America.

Well, at least Barney Frank will be retired, and won't be able to mess it up.

The theory, which is based on computer models, suggests ice sheets will also slash sea levels by up to 300m, so Russia and Alaska will be connected by land.

See, Sarah was right.  She'll see Russia from her house.

Professor Crowley said the stark findings do not mean we should stop fighting warming.

But he urged: ‘Don’t push the panic button.’

‘There’s no excuse for saying “we’ve got to keep pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,”’ he told Reuters.

‘Geologically it’s tomorrow, but we have lots of time to argue about the appropriate level of greenhouse gases.’

Look, I'm no expert on this.  These boys can be way off.  But they raise serious questions.  Many of the "global warning" scares are based on the same kind of computer modeling represented here.  And more and more scientists are expressing doubts.

"Fight global warming" is a phrase, not a scientific conclusion.  It involves vast sums of money.  Before we start to fight, and write the checks, maybe we should be sure what exactly we're fighting, why, and on whose behalf.

November 13, 2008.