A major scientific report has just been published that concludes that the climate is warming, that it is affecting the lives of everyday Americans, and that humans are the driving cause of it. This is well known by now, of course – but what’s strange about this particular report is that the Trump administration released it.

Agreeing with a plethora of international climate studies that acknowledge that temperatures have risen by 1.0°C (1.8°F) since 1900, it notes that “this period is now the warmest in the history of modern civilization.”

“This assessment concludes, based on extensive evidence, that it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.

“For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence,” it concludes.

Everything else within the report is exactly what you’d expect to see. Sea levels are rising at unprecedented rates, and in the last few years, they’ve accelerated rapidly. Weather extremes are becoming more powerful and destructive; the last three years have been the warmest on record; the planet is now warming exponentially.

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The last time the atmosphere contained this much carbon dioxide was 3 million years ago, but this time, we’re pumping it into the air at an unprecedented rate.

This report fits in perfectly with the overwhelming scientific consensus – so why did the current US government, one infamous for climate denial, release it?