I don't believe I am truly an expert in much of anything. Even in my chosen field, compared with the type of programming you do Alan, I am a piker.

But I do have some common sense and when I see scientists and especially reporter types ignoring aspects of stories because they don't fit the desired results I get skeptical.

As ed's post points out, the location of temparature reporting stations is important. Cities are especially difficult to use because of the reasons stated by Professor Bryson's article [Link: madison.com].

Other long term temp averages from large cities:
Tokyo, Japan went from 13 deg C in 1876 to over 16 deg C in 2004, averaged
New York, NY went from 50 deg F in 1822 to over 55 deg F in 2000, averaged
but,
West Point, NY 40 miles north of New York city,has stayed at 51 deg F from 1826 to 2000, averaged and Albany, NY 150 miles north of New York city has dropped 1 degree F during that same time frame.
This information is out there but is not widely reported.

Other temp drops from 1930 to 2000,
Mcgill NV, down 1 degree
Guthrie, OK, down 1/2 degree
Boulder, CO. down 1/2 degree
Truman, MO. down 2 degrees
Greenville, SC. down 1 degree
But these don't make the news.

The above temps are from giss, nasa and the US historical climatology network.

On the other hand, we, as an industry, can save the planet by wearing and requiring our employees to wear these:
[Link: ragazzivegan.com]