During each of the first five months of 1998 U.S. government scientists have concluded that global temperatures reached all-time highs. Combined with El Nino, record keepers who have measured earth's temperatures since the last century say that the rises are startling, and described them as "unprecedented."

The causes of such unseasonable rises in temperature are heat-trapping industrial-waste gases like carbon dioxide, created by the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal and oil. Inappropriate technology such as gas-propelled automobiles are greatly to blame.

Although former President Jimmy Carter called, during his first year in office, for "the moral equivalent of war against oil," little or nothing has been done to address his concerns. Many believe that his "battle cry", in fact, resulted in an oil-supported media blitz which killed his chances—in 1980-- for re-election.

Oil's greedy interests, protected by Ronald Reagan and especially by oil magnate, George Bush, have since expanded without promoting needed questions from a public that might—as a result-- stage protests, stimulating political action such as that now affecting America's tobacco industries. The U.S. media, supported by these self-same interests, refuses to publicize the cause of worldwide weather-change, aware that major oil and auto industry giants are among the most generous providers of advertising revenue.

Vice-president Al Gore, in a written statement, called on the public to take action. "This is a reminder once again," he said, "that global warming is real and that unless we act we can expect more extreme weather in the years ahead."

The Vice-president is trying, according to White House officials, to draw the attention of Congress to the necessity of enacting a 5-year, 6.3 billion-dollar program that would offer financial incentives and technological research to encourage reductions of heat-trapping emissions.

Until now, although the 1990s have shown the most dramatic increases in temperatures, records of the rising heat has occurred only in tiny increments of hundredths of a degree. In 1998, however, the jump of an astounding half-degree has been noted between January and May, as compared with the same period last year.

El Nino has faded, for the present moment, leading scientists to hope that the remainder of 1998 will see reductions in overall temperatures. Dr. Kevin Trenberth at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, believes 1998 will, nevertheless, be a record year.

Dr. Thomas R. Karl, a senior scientist at the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina, says, "to see every month breaking the record is rather significant." At first, he believed, the collected data must have been mistaken. But the Federal analysis clearly shows a gain of 1.76 degrees above an average of 61.7 degrees for the benchmark period between 1961 and 1990.

Dr. Karl has announced that if global warming is responsible for the temperature increases, then it is probably making worse regional climatic effects, including wildfires, droughts, and heavy rains.

If the surface temperatures of the Earth rise as much as 6 degrees by the end of the next century, as many scientists expect, the planet will be awash in rising tides. Regional climates will undergo extremes of change, droughts will dry up agricultural produce and unexpected floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes will descend on humankind surpassing the worst of Biblically-reported plagues.

The cause of such plagues, however, will not be, as TV evangelist/ Christian Coalition demagogue Pat Robertson insists, because of colorful displays in various cities of gay-friendly rainbow flags. Scientists seem sure, at least, of that.