09 Aug 2011 Washington Post Finds Room for Accuracy

Last week, I chided The Washington Post’s Jason Samenow for asserting that Washington, D.C. is in the midst of a record heatwave, given that determining this is all but impossible since DC’s surface temperature readings have been taken at more than one location (see the exchange, “Washington Post Has No Room for Accuracy,” here).

Samenow wrote a follow-up today in which he not only addresses this issue, but attempts to unpack the relative contributions to higher temperature readings of higher concentrations of greenhouse gases and the urban heat island effect.

Although I don’t agree with all that he said in his column, I think he did a fairly thoughtful job and think he should be congratulated for his efforts to get the story right. It’s rare that a writer will go to this extra effort and even more rare, unfortunately, that one at The Washington Post will, so it is especially appreciated.

You can read his follow-up piece, “Is There a Global Warming Signal in Washington D.C. Summer Temperatures?,” here.