As global-warmers are celebrating the signing of a new international agreement to control emissions of greenhouse gases, researchers are reporting that global warming is causing lovelorn frogs to croak earlier in the spring.

In yet another strain to support the idea of the gradual (or not so gradual) warming of our earth, scientists and researchers are comparing data on the earliest croaking dates of six species of frogs in the Ithaca, New York area.  The data were collected during two time periods, between 1900-1912 and 1990-1999.

Upon completion of the unique study, they reported in the August issue of Conservation Biology that four of the frog species (spring peeper, wood frog, gray tree frog, and bullfrog) are croaking earlier, while two species (green frog and American toad) have not changed their earliest croaking dates.

"This is the strongest evidence of a biological response to climate change in eastern North America," stated researchers.

"Pathetic evidence," I believe he meant to say.

First off, the data collected between the years 1900-1912 were made by a Cornell University Biologist who said that his main goal was to detect the earliest events in the breeding cycles of frogs.  On the other hand, the data from 1990-1999 were collected by simple volunteers who were not thus motivated, only desiring the bare croaking data.  It's safe to say that they missed the earliest croaking, forcing a comparison between the two events virtually useless.

Another problem is the temperature data.  Croaking begins in March. The researchers, however, did not report any statistically significant increase in temperature between 1900 and 1999 for March.

Bottom line.  Prove global warming by some other means, and leave our croaking amphibian friends alone.