Last October, we highlighted a study by Rahmstorf and Coumou which, through utilizing a Monte Carlo simulation, found that the Russian heat wave of 2010 had an 80% likelihood of being attributed to a long-term climatic warming trend. The finding was significant because it seemed to contradict an earlier study by Dole et al, highlighted by Andrew Revkin of the New York Times, that did not find evidence of a climate change link, and thus asserted that the link did not exist. This was, in the words of Rahmstorf and Coumou, a case of confusing “an absence of evidence” with “evidence of absence.” (more…)