INSTITUTE INDEX: As temperatures rise, Senate wilts

Rank of 2010 among the warmest years on record worldwide: 1

Year in which record-keeping began: 1880

Number of nations that have set all-time high temperature records so far in 2010: 9

Percent by which high-temperature records have exceeded low-temperature records in the U.S. over the past decade: 200

Number of temperature records set in the U.S. over the past two months: 1,480

As of June 2010, the number of consecutive months with a global temperature above the 20th century average: 304

Amount by which the Southeast's annual average temperature has risen since 1970: 2 degrees F.

Decline in the number of freezing days for most of the region in that time: 4 to 7

Percent of Southerners who say they believe "there is solid evidence of global warming": 61

Rank of the South among U.S. regions in terms of belief in global warming: 1

Amount by which the Southeast's average annual temperature is expected to rise under a scenario involving lower carbon emissions: 4.5 degrees F.

Amount by which the region's average annual temperature is expected to rise given higher carbon emissions: 9 degrees F.

Date on which the U.S. government released a report that called global warming "undeniable": 7/28/2010

Percent of warming over the past half-century that has gone into the oceans, expanding the water and contributing to sea-level rise: 90

Percent by which phytoplankton, the base of the marine food chain, has been reduced since 1950 due to warmer seawater: 40

Date on which Senate leaders pulled the plug on key climate legislation capping carbon emissions because they lacked the 60 votes needed to avoid a Republican filibuster: 7/22/2010

Date on which Senate leaders shelved a scaled-back energy bill creating clean jobs and strengthening offshore drilling oversight under threat of a Republican filibuster: 8/3/2010

Amount that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the climate bill, spent on lobbying so far this year: $44 million

Amount it spent in the second quarter alone: $13.4 million

Percent increase that represents over last year's second quarter: 25

Of the top 5 Senate recipients of U.S. Chamber campaign contributions so far this election cycle, number from the South: 3*

Level at which leading climate scientists say atmospheric carbon dioxide should be limited in order to maintain a planet similar to the one we now live on: 350 parts per million

Current level of atmospheric carbon dioxide: 390 parts per million

Date on which a "Global Work Party" is being planned to show that the people of the world are ready to get to work on climate solutions: 10/10/10

Number of actions planned so far: more than 1,070

* Sens. David Vitter (R-La.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), all of whom have received $5,000, according to OpenSecrets.org.

(Click on figure to go to the source.)