and yet....locally, here in central texas, the first quarter was officially dubbed the sixth warmest on record (going back to the late 1800s). the warmest first quarter hereabouts was way back in 1906 --- long before carbon footprints began tracking like bigfoot across our collective consciousness. i suggest you wake up and smell the propaganda in stories such as this: consider that until about 1980, the instruments used to record temps were not digital. furthermore, the thermometers that were once stationed amid green grass and leafy trees, are now marooned on urban heat islands of concrete. in short, the older data is suspect due to recording error and comparisons between the older and newer readings are like the proverbial apples and oranges. you all should bone up on u.n. agenda 21 and its implications before swallowing the alarmists' propaganda without a single grain of salt.