Record Temperatures by Shelby Linker, 8th period

U.S. agencies announced that 2015 was the hottest year ever recorded by humans, which led to the topic of long-term global warming. The prior record holder was 2014 and nine out of the ten hottest years on a global scale occurred in the last decade. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University he calculated the odds for the record-breaking runs occurring in both the Northern Hemisphere and the rest of the world. "In summary, our results suggest that the recent record temperature years are roughly 600 to 130,000 times more likely to have occurred under conditions of anthropogenic [climate change] than in its absence. Our findings thus underscore the profound impact that anthropogenic forcing has already had on temperature extremes."

It's not a surprise that the extreme temperatures are caused by our neglect of the environment and our lack of knowledge about how easily we can affect it. This reminds me of Theodore Roosevelt's plan to conserve America's natural beauty by creating National and State Parks.

Sources

The Washington Post