High temperatures in Death Valley and global warming

Without supporting evidence, Lee Bernstein (Saturday letters to the editor) states that the recent 127-degree temperature in Death Valley, breaking the long-standing 1916 record of 126, was part of a “naturally occurring cycle,” and that there is “probably nothing extraordinary about the current heat wave.”

That the 1916 Death Valley record stood so long is explainable by statistical variance. An example would be the fact that a pair more often wins a poker hand than does a royal flush. But that means only that a pair is a much more likely hand, not that a royal flush never wins a hand. The statement that the current temperatures are “nothing extraordinary” overlooks the overwhelming evidence that the increasing temperatures relate directly to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Scientific researchers seek factual support for explanations of natural phenomena. Lacking factual support, Mr. Bernstein’s explanations are idle speculation.