History shows there is no global warming

The weather has been making headlines the last few months, lower than normal temperatures and near record early winter snowfall. Temperatures in Chicago, as measured at the area's official weather site, O'Hare International, have been averaging 2 degree below normal every day since Nov. 1.

Deciding that a longer view of temperature data was in order, say the last 100 years in the lower 48 states, I went to the Web site of the National Climatic Data Center, the government entity that keeps long-term weather records. Their data reveal that the mean annual temperature for the last century was 52.8 degrees Fahrenheit. In 2008, the mean temperature was 53.0 degrees, only .2 degrees higher than the 100-year average. By way of comparison, temperature in the U.S. for the 16 year period from 1931-1946 averaged 53.2 degrees. But what about global temperatures?

The global temperature record generated by satellite measurement provides by far the broadest and most consistent coverage of the earth. While the satellites have been in service only the last 30 years, the data they provide is quite revealing. First, it shows that global temperature as of December 2008 is only .2 degrees above the average for the entire period. Second, the data show that for the last 8 years, global temperature has been trending down at a rate of 1.5 degrees/century.

All of the above tells me we don't have the understanding of climate change necessary to implement policies such as carbon taxes, shutting down coal-fired generation plants and other draconian actions to address a "global warming" problem that doesn't exist.

They are all tantamount to committing economic suicide. That global temperatures are changing is beyond dispute, they always have. That current change is catastrophic and a threat to mankind is most certainly questionable.

Joe H. Heater

Palatine