This graph has been showing up a lot.
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/Fig.C.lrg.gif
With words that imply it shows cooling.
But it's an optical illusion that is easily defeated.
Take a pencil (something thinner would be even better, but a pencil will do nicely).
Put it at 0.45 on the left end of the box and 0.6 on the right.
Pretty good fit to the data, yes?
Try it the other way, with 0.6 on the left and 0.45 on the right (or any other small decline).
Oops.
It's a cute illusion, caused by the clutter of monthly data points, a large y-axis compared to the changes, and including only a few years, including the unusually warm one of 1998 and the unusually cool ones of 2001-2002.
But, even with all that, the current warming rate of about +0.15-0.20 degrees/decade can still clearly be seen.
This graph is much more illuminating, though.
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/Fig.A2.lrg.gif
2007-09-22
04:34:33
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10 answers
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asked by
Bob
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Global Warming