Via Daily Caller:
In the sweltering, triple-digit Washington, D.C. heat, the climate change group 350.org planned to mock global warming skeptics on Capitol Hill Saturday morning by melting an ice sculpture shaped into the word “Hoax?”
Early Saturday, however, group founder and “Fight Global Warming Now” author Bill McKibben sent a cancellation notice to participants, claiming he was calling off the stunt out of sensitivity to those suffering in the heat wave — especially people in West Virginia.
“I think I screwed up,” McKibben began, explaining that while melting a statue was a good way to draw attention to global warming, it could also have offended those suffering in tough times. […]
Others are not so sure McKibben’s explanation holds water.
Former meteorologist and climate change skeptic Anthony Watts pointed out that the stunt would have backfired, given the slow rate at which the ice was likely to melt.
“[T]he sculpture may have lasted past sunset . . . [and] into the cooler next day given it was to be 6′ x 12′, a darned big sculpture,” Watts wrote on his blog. He encouraged readers to look online for information about tabletop ice sculptures. One source points out that typical ice sculptures generally last about 6 hours indoors, but outside will melt at a rate of ¼-inch per hour, depending on the temperature.
“The possibility the ice would not melt fast enough for a convincing photo-op loomed large,” Watts added. “A 6×12 foot block of ice doesn’t melt in an hour, and we are dealing with ‘short attention span theatre’ when it comes to photo ops.”