"The odds that natural variability created these [recent weather] extremes are minuscule... To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills."—Dr. James Hansen, NASA

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Notes:  Extended quote from James Hansen's 8/3/12 op-ed in the Washington Post.

 

"The deadly European heat wave of 2003, the fiery Russian heat wave of 2010 and catastrophic droughts in Texas and Oklahoma last year can each be attributed to climate change. And once the data are gathered in a few weeks’ time, it’s likely that the same will be true for the extremely hot summer the United States is suffering through right now.

"These weather events are not simply an example of what climate change could bring. They are caused by climate change. The odds that natural variability created these extremes are minuscule, vanishingly small. To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills."