Philip Stott

About the author: Philip Stott, emeritus professor of biogeography at London University, is coauthor of Political Ecology: Science, Myth, and Power.

Those who believe that human-caused global warming is a serious problem often point to changes in polar ice as proof of their theory. In 2002, for example, a 500-billion ton section of the Antarctic Larsen B ice shelf collapsed into the sea, prompting environmentalists to call for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. However, shifting ice in the Antarctic provides no evidence of global warming. While some ice sheets have been retreating, others are growing thicker, and some Antarctic regions have actually become colder in recent years. The earth could, in fact, be on the verge of entering another ice age.

The dramatic demise of the Larsen B ice...