{"id":275,"date":"2016-03-07T16:22:10","date_gmt":"2016-03-07T16:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/?p=275"},"modified":"2016-03-07T16:22:10","modified_gmt":"2016-03-07T16:22:10","slug":"myth-3-the-earth-isnt-really-warming-after-all-kyle-nelson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/myth-3-the-earth-isnt-really-warming-after-all-kyle-nelson\/","title":{"rendered":"Myth #3 The Earth Isn\u2019t Really Warming After All – Kyle Nelson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"global-temps-1880-2014\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The idea that the Earth is not actually warming is one of the most pervasive myths about climate change, and it is also one of the most straight-forward. \u00a0The basis for this myth comes from the fact that the global average temperature in 1998 was close to the average temperature today, and so one can draw a line between the average back then and the average now and such a line will be flat. \u00a0While it is true that global average temperatures in 1998 were similar to present averages, the fact is that 1998 was an unusually warm year due to the effects of El Ni\u00f1o and the Southern Oscillation (ENSO). \u00a0During the warm phase of the El Ni\u00f1o cycle sections of the Pacific Ocean accumulate large amounts of unusually warm water, leading to higher than normal global average temperatures. \u00a0By using earlier years as a baseline it becomes clear that the overall trend has been towards steadily increasing temperatures over time. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to placing 1998 into context as an El Ni\u00f1o year there are other reasons to think that the Earth is growing warmer. \u00a0One such reason is that 2014 was the hottest year on record, despite the fact that it was not an El Ni\u00f1o year. \u00a0Additionally, nine of the ten hottest years on record have all been in the 21<\/span>st<\/span>-century. \u00a0It is hard to imagine that the Earth isn\u2019t really warming, or that such warming has paused, given such overwhelming evidence. \u00a0If one were to accept the claim that the Earth is not warming at all, then the need to moderate our consumption of resources and move towards a more sustainable way of life becomes a matter of luxury rather than urgent necessity. \u00a0It is vital that false information about climate change is challenged with empirical evidence, especially during such a pivotal time in our planet\u2019s history when the choices that we make have such lasting effects for future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The idea that the Earth is not actually warming is one of the most pervasive myths about climate change, and it is also one of the most straight-forward. \u00a0The basis for this myth comes from the fact that the global average temperature in 1998 was close to the average temperature today, and so one can draw a line between the… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-action"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275\/revisions\/277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/ps301\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}