In recent months the vice president has taken to blaming nearly every weather phenomenon on global warming, when much of it should really be blamed on El Nino or other weather patterns. Instead of looking at short term phenomenon, he makes the case for global warming on the basis that June was the hottest June on record.
Well before you move to Alaska, let's consult at least one scientific expert. Dr. John Christy of the University of Alabama's Earth System Science Laboratory notes that reports of record high temperatures in the U.S. may be based on incomplete records from the National Weather Service. For example, if you also look at local records (that go back further) you will find something interesting. June 1998 was indeed a hot month in Huntsville, Alabama, but the other Junes (in the years 1914, 1921, 1936, 1943, 1952, and 1953) were all hotter.
He says, "We will begin soon to digitize all of Alabama's weather records so we can offer a more expeditious and representative picture of today's ‘extremes' in terms of over 100 years of Alabama's climate. In the mean time, when old timers say, ‘aw shucks, it was worse back in ‘52, ‘53, and ‘54,' believe them.'"
Is it hot this summer? Well of course! Is it the hottest June on record? Not at all. So let's be more careful when we blame it all on global warming.
I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.
© 1998 Probe Ministries International