NBC continues its green obsession and attempts to educate us about the planet.   Ann Curry, just back from "the south pole" was in attendance today and tried to teach us an environmental tid bit or two.   According to Ann, the "south pole" moves because the ice moves.   She didn't elaborate but apparently she's at least as confused as a fifth grader, perhaps more so.

There are two "places" we refer to as the "south pole," one being the geographic pole and the other the magnetic one.   Both actually do move but not because of the flow of ice.   The Earth's rotation is imperfect, more of a wobble than a spin.   The south pole is the most southern point on the globe and since the Earth wobbles, the pole's position wobbles as well.   The magnetic south pole itself moves because the Earth's magnetic field is in constant motion.   There is no one spot on the planet which could possibly remain the "south pole," geographic or magnetic for very long.

But what Ann Curry was referring to was the fact that even if the geographic pole were to remain permanently fixed in the same place, the monument placed in the ground by scientists to mark the ceremonial south pole would have to be moved to be accurate.   That's because the 9,000 feet of ice above the land mass moves more than 25 feet each year.   That is due partly to gravity and partly to the fact that 9,000 feet of ice piled up creates an incredible force, one that melts the ice at the bottom.   In other words, the tremendous glaciers lie atop melted ice which sits atop land.

The Earth is dynamic, never stagnant.   The glaciers are in constant motion.   All land on the face of the Earth is always in motion, however slow.   Any fifth grader should understand these simple facts.   It is a crying shame that these heralded Journalists who endeavor to educate us poor stupid adults about our environmental responsibilities haven't got a fifth grader's grasp on the facts.

Labels: environmentalism