NASA admits that it is only 38% sure that 2014 was the hottest year. That's on page 5 of the NOAA/NASA study. Somehow, the margin of error (0.1 degree Celsius) was not part of the press release. Margins of error are routinely reported on most studies I read, like Pew Research studies. Somehow, the major news networks missed that. Even according to the flawed study, 2014 was a statistical tie with other years, within the margin of error by a factor of 50.
Science is not about being a denier or an acceptor. It's about taking a critical look at claims. How was the 2014 Hottest Year study carried out? A certain number of climate stations were selected by humans, while others were rejected. That introduces subjectivity right there. Some research stations were surrounded by grass in 1950, and are now surrounded by asphalt. How was the urban heat island effect accounted for? Answer: somewhat subjectively. They decided not to factor in the RSS satellite data, which does not result in a record temperature for 2014. Another subjective decision. How were the computer models programmed, and according to which biases?
These are the questions that a scientific critical thinker should ask, as well as asking how the conclusion effects the FY 2015 budgets of NOAA and NASA.
How was the 97.1% scientific consensus on AGW determined? John Kerry quoted that, and it's been repeated ever since. You don't know. You haven't even asked the question. You have this image of 1,000 scientists sitting in a room, and 971 of them raising their hands to vote yes. The truth is much more dubious than that.