I wrote a brief entry on the weather the other night, and now, I offer more proof that global warming is indeed REAL. In 2006, the federal government reports that temperatures in the United States were the warmest ever recorded:
Last year was the warmest on record in the continental United States, the federal government reported Tuesday, attributing the temperatures to the natural El Nino cycle as well as to long-term warming linked to human emissions of greenhouse gases.
I wrote a brief entry on the weather the other night, and now, I offer more proof that global warming is indeed REAL. In 2006, the federal government reports that temperatures in the United States were the warmest ever recorded:
Last year was the warmest on record in the continental United States, the federal government reported Tuesday, attributing the temperatures to the natural El Nino cycle as well as to long-term warming linked to human emissions of greenhouse gases.
In a statement released by the National Climatic Data Center, BOTH 1998 and 2006 were about 2.2 degrees above the 20th century mean average of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. They also said in the statement that the last nine years have been:
"Among the 25 warmest years on record for the contiguous U.S., a streak which is unprecedented in the historical record. After a cold start to December, the persistence of spring-like temperatures in the eastern two-thirds of the country during the final two to three weeks of 2006 made this the fourth warmest December on record in the U.S., and helped bring the annual average to record high levels."
Among the most above average cities in the United States were Boston which averaged eight degrees above normal, Minneapolis-St Paul averaged 17 degrees above average the last three weeks of 2006, and EVEN DENVER saw temperatures average 1.4 degrees warmer than the 1971-2000 average, despite it's third snowiest December on record (meaning I don't want to get any comments from anyone saying "there's no such thing, look how much snow Denver is getting")
Five states — Minnesota, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire — had their warmest December on record and no state was colder than average in December, the center added.
According to the MSNBC article online:
The center said that a moderate El Nino, a periodic Pacific Ocean pattern that affects weather worldwide, had limited Arctic blasts across the continental United States.
"A contributing factor ... also is the long-term warming trend, which has been linked to increases in greenhouse gases," it added.
But here's the kicker:
A key greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, which cars and industry emit by burning fossil fuel. The gases add to a natural greenhouse effect around Earth that traps in heat. Many scientists fear that humans are adding too much on top of pre-industrial levels of greenhouse gases.
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased by 30 percent since the start of the industrial revolution, and that has paralleled a warming trend.
Of course, as we are all well aware, the Bush administration simply refuses to require emissions restrictions, for fear it will hurt the economy Bush's friends in big business, most notably BIG OIL.
Worldwide, 2006 was the fourth warmest on record. On top of that, Britain's National Weather Service has predicted that 2007 will be the warmest on record GLOBALLY.
I'll close the same way I did in my post on Saturday: I seriously weep for our planet today.
Cross posted at both Raising Kaine, and The Liberal Progressive!