FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2016, file photo, a haul truck with a 250-ton capacity carries coal from the Spring Creek strip mine near Decker, Mont. As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nationâs struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal scientists warn that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods - even as President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nation's struggling coal mines.
A draft report representing the consensus of 13 federal agencies concludes that the evidence global warming is being driven by human activities is "unambiguous." That directly undercuts statements by Trump and his Cabinet casting doubt on whether the warming observed around the globe is being primarily driven by man-made carbon pollution.
The report cites thousands of peer-reviewed studies. It says, "Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans."
FILE - In this June 20, 2017, file photo, a local temperature sign reads 120-degrees as temperatures climb to near-record highs in Phoenix. As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nationâs struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this April 13, 2017, file photo, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt holds up a hardhat he was given during a visit to Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company's Harvey Mine in Sycamore, Pa. As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nationâs struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods. Faced with reams of evidence complied by federal scientists that conflicts with their policy positions, Trump and his advisers frequently cite the work of industry-funded think tanks. Pruitt and Energy Secretary Rick Perry have championed the formation of a âred-team, blue-teamâ exercise where climate-change skeptics would publicly debate mainstream climate scientists.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2016, file photo, vintage cars line a property after the Loma fire burned through Loma Chiquita Road near Morgan Hill, Calif. As President Donald Trump touts new oil pipelines and pledges to revive the nationâs struggling coal mines, federal scientists are warning that burning fossil fuels is already driving a steep increase in the United States of heat waves, droughts and floods. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
The Associated Press