I recently encountered a post which made the following argument against the reality of global warming:
Once again I have the pleasure of poking the myth of Global Warming in the eye with a literary pointy stick. According to the “science” behind the theory, the more CO2 in the air, the higher the temperature should climb. Fair enough. However, according to this, 2006 was Earth’s 5th warmest year, it would appear that CO2 levels have dropped, else, 2006 would have been the warmest year.
The post goes on to critique the news report of 2006 being the 5th-warmest year on record, arguing at each turn that anthropogenic global warming is folly, in fact, that it’s a hoax.
Of course it’s the post which is folly. The idea that global temperature must rise and fall with each little rise and fall in CO2 level ignores the fact that in addition to a trend due to global warming, there is also natural variation in the climate system. This is especially ironic, since denialists so often point to natural variation in the climate system to claim that modern warming isn’t unusual.
