Via
CNN:
The Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, probably even longer.
The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia."
Gee. So maybe that kooky Al Gore guy is really onto something.
Congress asked for this report. In fact, a Republican -- chairman of the House Science Committee, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert of New York -- asked for this report.
What Boehlert got was a 155-page report from the world's top climatologists, asserting, among other things, that the average temperature in the Northern Hemisphere gained a full degree in the 20th Century. The scientists say (with great confidence) that the Earth is at its warmest in over 400 years. And while they can't prove anything beyond that, they're certain it's actually much longer than that.
Overall, the panel agreed that the warming in the last few decades of the 20th century was unprecedented over the last 1,000 years, though relatively warm conditions persisted around the year 1000, followed by a "Little Ice Age" from about 1500 to 1850.
The scientists said they had less confidence in the evidence of temperatures before 1600. But they considered it reliable enough to conclude there were sharp spikes in carbon dioxide and methane, the two major "greenhouse" gases blamed for trapping heat in the atmosphere, beginning in the 20th century, after remaining fairly level for 12,000 years.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization chartered by Congress to advise the government of scientific matters.
What Congress intends to do with this information is unclear. Could they...maybe...possibly...start discussing some (gulp) legislation to control pollution and greenhouse gases?
Could a fellow Kossack -- someone with more expertise on global warming than me -- put that one degree into some kind of perspective? It doesn't sound like much, but it is.