Kilimanjaro - the Inconvenient Reality

Mount Kilimanjaro has been utilized by many global warming proponents as a symbol of the continuing consequences of human actions. Kilimanjaro is a massive stratovolcano and boasts the highest peak in all of Africa. Al Gore's oscar winning documentary illustrates how the glaciers have melted over the years and he quotes Hemmingway, saying "Within a decade, there will be no more 'Snows of Kilimanjaro.'"

This is such a profound scene in his documentary that the clip was chosen for the trailers promoting the film's release. In fact, the climate change crusade has adopted the indication of any glacial decline as clear and indisputable evidence of global warming. I must admit, it makes sense - when temperatures rise, ice melts. Even my five year old nephew wouldn't argue with that kind of logic. However, changes in glacial mass and snow stock are the product of numerous variables that are blatantly overlooked by the global warming movement.

Since 1912, when the first measurements of the glaciers that cover the top of Kilimanjaro were recorded, the ice cap volume has dropped 82%. The mountain lost almost a quarter of its ice mass between 2000 and 2006. Researchers, such as ice core paleoclimatologist Lonnie Thompson, predict that the ice on top of Kilimanjaro will disappear between 2015 and 2020. In less than eight years, the mountain's name may have to be changed from Kilimanjaro meaning "shining mountain" in Swahili, to a less alluring, "Kilimakavu" roughly meaning "dry and hard mountain."