With the recent reports of record temperatures across the U.S., global warming is back in the news.

During the past 30 to 40 years temperatures have been continuing to rise, even though we have had times where the warming of the atmosphere appeared to slow down before speeding back up. But according to numerous research papers, the warming of the top 1,000 meters of the oceans continued unabated during these period -- a significant finding because more than 90 percent of the excess energy captured by the Earth is stored in the oceans.

This warming just a continuation of the trend that Michael Mann noticed in 1998 and 1999 with his "hockey stick" papers. Since that time multiple groups have tried to attack Mann's findings but these findings have been further confirmed in multiple papers including Hakim (2006), Wahl (2007), Huang (2004), Ahmed (2013) and Marcott (2013).

In addition, multiple scientific, professional societies have made public statements about the reality of climate change and the need to address it. The first group to do so was the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science first in 1992 and then in 2012.

In 2005, 11 national academies of science, including that of the U.S., issued a joint statement that climate change is real and needs be addressed. In 2016, 31 professional societies wrote to Congress making the same argument. These included The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, the American Chemical Society, the American Meteorological Society, etc.

Thomas Pritchett

Easton