It's tricky to talk about the link between heat waves like the one half of America is suffering under and climate change. But climate scientist Peter Gleick does a good job. He writes:

Not only is it hot, it's hotter than it used to be … It's going to get even hotter. A lot hotter.

Global warming is causing or worsening some of the extreme weather we're seeing. This influence of climate change on some extremes, including especially heat waves and heavy precipitation and some kinds of storm and flood events must no longer be waved away, swept under the rug, or otherwise ignored. It must become part of our daily discussion and debate.