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To revive the American dream, we need to rebuild our economy on a sound foundation – one that puts people back to work, contributes to long-term prosperity, rebuilds our communities, and protects our environment.
Globally, the year 2007 tied for the second warmest year on record, behind the record warmth of 2005. This warmth is part of a long-term trend toward rising temperatures and extreme weather events resulting from global warming.
Global average surface temperatures have increased by more than 1.4°F since the mid-19th century. In 2007, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the evidence of global warming is "unequivocal" and that human activities are responsible for most of this rise in temperature.
To examine recent temperature patterns in the United States, we compared temperature data for the years 2000-2007 with the historical average, or "normal," temperature for the preceding 30 years, 1971-2000. Our data were collected at 255 weather stations, those with the highest quality data,in all 50 states and Washington, DC. Overall, we found that temperatures were above the 30-year average across the country, indicating pervasive warming.
The 2007 average temperature for the continental United States was the 10th warmest on record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. Nearly every state in the Lower 48 experienced above normal temperatures in 2007.
