The problem with being a prophet of doom is that when doom doesn’t arrive on time, it’s bad for business. That’s why smart prophets of doom either don’t name an expiration date, or they put the date so far out that they’ve made their pile and are long gone by the time doom doesn’t arrive.

We see this a lot in the environmental movement (some of us fogies remember being told that by the 1980s, the oceans would be dead and tuna would be a rare delicacy costing $75 a can). Al Gore also recently emerged from his $9 million seaside mansion to promote a sequel to his 2006 “documentary” “An Inconvenient Truth,” which pushes for more government investment in renewable energy (i.e., showering even more tax dollars on his green energy cronies). Speaking of inconvenient truths, Fox News’ Katherine Timpf replied, “He told us New York would be under water by now. I walked to work today without scuba gear. Why are we still listening to him?!”

Now, it appears that some environmental prophets of doom are finally wising up. James Hansen, one of the major names in climate change alarmism, warned a couple of decades ago that by 2018, the Earth would be up to 5 degrees F. hotter and New York’s West Side highway would be underwater. That seems unlikely, so now he’s claiming that all the melting ice has lead to a cooling effect that will prevent global warming, but sea levels will eventually rise, dooming New Yorkers by 2168.

And if that doesn’t happen? Well, that’s the great thing about making your doomsday predictions for 150 years from now. If anyone wants you to admit you’re wrong, they’ll need a Ouija board.