Rising temperatures fuel global-warming solutions push

In 2006, Americans experienced a summer heat wave that broke records from coast to coast and killed hundreds of people. The year ended and 2007 began with the warmest winter on record globally. And then, in February, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a consensus report declaring the evidence of global warming as “unequivocal” and that human activities are responsible for most of the rise in temperature.

In response, Environment California examined recent temperature patterns in California and across the United States. First, we looked at data from 255 weather stations between 2000-2006 in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Then, we compared that data with temperatures averaged over the 30 years spanning 1971-2000, or what scientists call the “normal” temperature.
Here’s what we found.

From June through August 2006, the average maximum temperatures were 4.1