The NY Times has an article today about a place in Arizona called ‘Heat Invades Cool Heights Over Arizona Desert’. It’s a two page lamentation over the so-called destruction of Summerhaven AZ,
a natural air-conditioned retreat for people in Tucson, one of the so-called sky islands of southern Arizona. When it is 105 degrees in the city, it is at least 20 degrees cooler up here near the 9,157-foot summit of Mount Lemmon.
The article tries desperately to link anecdotal evidence about changes observed by local residents with AGW. What I find interesting, though, that the above quote is the only time specific temperatures are mentioned. For example
The American Southwest has been warming for nearly 30 years, according to records that date to the late 19th century. And the region is in the midst of an eight-year drought. Both developments could be within the range of natural events.
The question that jumps off the page at you is, how much warming? The answer seems to be nothing above normal. They spend a lot of time talking about recent fires and forest management. But what’s the point? The only one I can garner is that they have no real proof that AGW is causing these changes but they’d really like you to think it is.