Environment Maryland, which describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan environmental advocacy organization, has produced a report on rising temperatures in the U.S. and Maryland, which it attributes to global warming.

The report, released today and citing data from the National Climatic Data Center, notes that the first seven months of this year were the warmest January-to-July period on record for the continental United States. In Maryland, the same period was 2.8 degrees above the average for that period during the 20th century. Since 2000, the report said, Baltimore has averaged 0.9 degrees warmer than the average for 1971 to 2000.

The group is calling on Maryland's representatives in Congress to support passage of the Safe Climate Act (H.R. 5642) "to harness clean energy solutions and reduce U.S. global warming emissions by 15 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050."

For the report's executive summary, and a link to the full report, click here. Read it, then leave a comment here.

There's almost no credible scientific debate anymore about the reality of global warming. It's happening. You can explore the temperature trends for Maryland, the region and the nation for yourself, using this tool from the NCDC.

The remaining questions are about how big a role human activity is playing, and whether its potential consequences warrant individual, national and global action to reduce the emission of "greenhouse" gases, and whether such action would make a significant difference in our future in any case. Your thoughts?