"Hot" compared to what? Revkin claims that at an average temperature of 59 or so degrees, the Earth is "hot"

Fire and Water on a Hot, Turbulent Planet - Dot Earth Blog - NYTimes.com

What Is the Average Temperature of Earth? | eHow.com

When scientists measure the average temperature of the Earth, they take many readings from the coldest and hottest places before calculating a mean temperature, generally agreed to be 15 degrees C (59 degrees F).

The Planet Venus

The average surface temperature is 847 degrees F., hot enough to melt lead.

WikiAnswers - What is the Sun's average surface temperature

The surface temperature averages about 10,000 degrees F. The core averages 29,000,000 degrees F