Also here you can see that 2008 has dropped back near 1997 levels globally. The year 2005 was an unusual spike, as you can see from the list.
(Jan-Dec) Anomaly °C Anomaly °F
2005 0.61 1.10
1998 0.58 1.04
2002 0.56 1.01
2003 0.56 1.01
2006 0.55 0.99
2007 0.55 0.99
2004 0.53 0.95
2001 0.49 0.88
2008 0.49 0.88
1997 0.46 0.83
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2008/ann/global.html[/URL][/QUOTE]
If one does a linear regression on the temperature (satellite) for only the last eight years the slope is slightly negative. That's simply a fact, just as it is a fact that the linear slope was positive for the several decades prior. The words being used around the climate literature now are 'pause', 'lull', or 'interrupted', 'slightly cooling'. The discussion now is about natural variability and background cycles, and how likely the latest temperature lull(?) is likely to be explained by such.
[URL]http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7191/pdf/nature06921.pdf[/URL]