Activists calling for a costly, government approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions frequently cite statistics intended to indicate the seriousness of the threat of climate change. Recently, the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the Natural Resources Defense Council offered one such statistic, claiming that temperatures in the "American West" have risen more than the worldwide average. This statistic is meant to imply that the need to address climate change is more important here than elsewhere. However, the statistic, also used by the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group three years ago, is meaningless. Temperatures over land are more variable than over the ocean, so it is equally true to say that temperatures over land also fall more quickly than those over water. Ultimately, it is one more example of a global warming statistic that is less than meets the eye.

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