September 21, 2013

The Bell Tolls For Thee

This was on the front page of today's Arizona Republic.

Phoenix summer was hottest ever: 3 months of misery wasn't all in your head

The story explained the average temperature in Phoenix from June through August was 95.1 degrees. This was followed by a little table listing the five hottest summers on record, dating from 1895.

The four hottest summers were 2013, 2011, 2007 and 2002.

Coincidence, I'm sure.

What I found interesting about this story (and not in a good way) is that the words "climate change" were never mentioned, and there was only a brief one-sentence quote in the story from a climate scientist.

The story also includes this, almost as a throwaway.

It wasn’t just Phoenix that simmered this summer. It was the fifth-hottest summer worldwide since record-keeping began in 1880, and the 15th-hottest in the United States, Crouch said. Most of the hotter areas were in the West.

Nationwide, the numbers reflect a warming trend of 1 degree over the past century. In Arizona, the increase has been about 2 degrees, he said.

It is a thoroughly irresponsible lapse in journalism to write these facts and not provide the explanation behind them--namely, that global warming is taking place, and humans are the cause.

Nonsense like this is why nothing will be done, and humans will continue their slide into the abyss, taking the planet with them.

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