“The summer’s heat waves baked the eastern United States, parts of Africa and eastern Asia, and above all Russia, which lost millions of acres of wheat and thousands of lives in a drought worse than any other in the historical record.

Seemingly disconnected, these far-flung disasters are reviving the question of whether global warming is causing more weather extremes.” So a recent New York Times article reported.

The scientific community examining this question believe the answer is probably. “The climate is changing,” said Jay Lawrimore, chief of climate analysis at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. “Extreme events are occurring with greater frequency, and in many cases with greater intensity.”

As greenhouse gases warm the world, science predicts heavier rainstorms in summer, bigger snowstorms in winter, more intense droughts in at least some places and more record-breaking heat waves. Scientists and government reports say the statistical evidence shows that much of this is starting to happen.

Although scientists do not have absolute proof, their theory fits the facts of global warming and expected impacts. The prudent response is to reduce the use of fossil fuels and quickly transform the economy to new energy sources. We must continue to ask Congress to do so, and urgently.