On Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:02:18 -0500, hpeer wrote:

As I said, my review has led to the conclusion that the arctic ice sheet
is BOTH losing surface area and thinning. The VAST majority of
information sources lead in one direction, Global Warming.

Although still a bit of a skeptic I have to agree that the artic ice
evidence is fairly compelling. There have been lots of historic
variations in artic ice of course, none of which had anything to do
with human activity. That is the crux of the issue in my opinion:
Is the warming a result of some natural influence over which we have
no control, or is it indeed a result of fossil fuel combustion, or
some combination of both? I think the jury is still out and likely to
remain so for quite a while. The quest for alternate fuels is a good
thing however and should proceed full speed ahead regardless.