I blame die globale Erwärmung.

But… wait… aren’t the oceans rising?

A new German island appears to have formed in the North Sea, just 15 miles off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein.

Measuring 37 acres (equivalent to roughly 26 football fields), the landmass was created over the last few years by sandbanks emerging from the sea, and has already proven a hit with its first settlers: an array of (early) birds that have made the island their home.

… The new isle, which boasts sand dunes measuring up to 16ft high, has already prompted optimistic comparisons in the German press to Dubai’s man-made Palm Islands.

Quick, let’s get some people living out there so we can wring our hands over the melting ice caps some more!

Related: I blame גלאבאלע וואָרמינג:

An unusual storm brought snow and chaos to the Middle East yesterday (Jan. 10).

The weather system dumped 4-6 inches (10-15 centimeters) of snow on Jerusalem Wednesday night (Jan. 9) and yesterday morning, according to Jason Samenow, chief meteorologist with the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang.

Snow is, I take it, highly unusual in that part of the world. You don’t think Al Gore is spending some of that Al-Jazeera money on a pilgrimage, do you?