Find the right tools

This week a meeting will take place in Copenhagen of the ‘Polar Bear Specialist Group’, set up by the IUCN / Species Survival Commission.  What is quite extraordinary is that one of the world’s foremost experts on polar bears, Dr. Mitchell Taylor will not be attending.  He has been told to stay away because his views do not accord with the rest of those attending.  Dr Taylor has studied polar bears for the last 30 years and contrary to the popular view, has stated on more than one occasion that polar bear numbers are actually much higher than they were 30 years ago.

You can read the full article here and while you’re at it, you might also note that the famous ‘polar bears on a melting iceberg’ shot that has been used over and over by people such as Al Gore to support their standpoint was taken by photographer Amanda Byrd just off the Alaska coast.  She has said that the bears were in fact in no danger, and that the photo was taken simply because the wind-sculpted ice on which they were standing made for a striking image – it wasn’t taken to illustrate global warming.  

All of which goes to show that you can prove anything if you speak to the right people and find the right tools to illustrate your point.