2006 Warmest Year On Record

In case you missed it, the National Climate Data Center has released the weather summary for 2006 in the U.S. The summer's heat wave and the El Nino weather pattern made it the hottest year ever recorded in the U.S., with an average temperature of 55.o2.

USA Today quotes the center's monitoring chief Jay Lawrimore:

"There's no denying that climate change is occuring, and warmer years are more common for that reason."

Which brings us to this intriguing political question: Which U.S. Senator called global warming a hoax? Answer: Jim Inhofe, former Tulsa mayor and would-be meterologist.