During that brutal cold snap of a few weeks ago, several people who know I believe global warming is a scientific fact asked me, “Dennis, if global warming is happening, then how come it’s so cold?!”
One morning, when the temp nosedived well below zero, I started my car, and it groaned like a wheezing asthmatic as it tried to start, then finally did. As I let it warm up, I fiddled with the radio, hitting accidentally upon an alt-right-wing station with the voice of some guy scoffing sarcastically at global warming.
“It’s 15 below zero this morning,” he said, “and those liberals are claiming global warming is true. Yeah, sure it’s true. Hahahaha. Then how come it’s 15 below outside?!”
I lunged at the radio dial to turn the fool off.
However, I must admit, years ago I wondered the same thing. Enduring harsh Minnesota winters, one after another, makes global warming seem like a goofy notion, indeed. That is why I began to do some research into the global-warming issue.
I try to share what I’ve learned, but in certain cases I don’t waste my time. I’ve learned those who think global warming is nonsense will never change their minds. They are locked stubbornly into their opposition, the way Flat-Earthers used to insist the world is flat, not round. Most of them, like President Trump, believe global warming is a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese in an effort to put a dent in America’s productive capacity. Trump has since softened his opposition, slightly, but who knows where the wheels of his rapid-fire mind-changing will end up in a week or a month from now.
What I’ve learned is global warming is measured by the average temperatures on Earth, on its land masses and in its oceans. Because of the very nature of weather, some places on Earth are bound to be much colder or much hotter than other areas. And, not to forget, global warming, even when it increases just slightly, can cause all kinds of weather extremes – from very hot to very cold, from very wet to very dry.
Here are the facts:
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 16 of the hottest 17 years have occurred on Earth during the past 35 years. NASA further noted the 20 warmest years have all happened since 1997. The past three years (2014, 2015, 2016) have been the hottest years, globally, in history.
That’s not just NASA talking. Those facts have been documented by research groups throughout the world. And the global warming is visible in all kinds of alarming outcomes: melting glacial ice, ocean rise and tidal flooding, scorching heat waves in places like Australia leading to massive fires and drastic consequences for plant and animal life. On May 19 last year in Phalopdi, India, the temperature climbed to a frightful 123.8 degrees.
Some science-deniers are starting to admit grudgingly the global climate is warming up. Some will even admit it’s worrisome, but the most of these ostriches will insist it’s not caused by human activities – the burning of oil, gas, coal and the steady build-up of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These deniers insist the warming is merely a natural long-term pattern that recurs every few thousand years and that has little or nothing to do with carbon-based fuels. It is, to the deniers, apparently just a fluke that global warming increased drastically since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1880s with the invention of the internal-combustion engine, the widespread burning of coal and huge increases in the use of other carbon-based fuels.
What’s most worrisome of all is that so many of these science-deniers are at the helm of important positions in our national government. America has always been a global leader, but when it comes to the fight against global warming, we are starting to lag behind because of these elected foot-draggers, skeptics, naysayers, science-deniers. They would maintain their mulish denials even if the rising ocean covered flat Florida and rose to the steps of the national Capitol, in which case the do-nothings would have to boat to work.
Mankind is in a race with time. If we do not do something to change man-made global warming, the Earth (or most of it) will become uninhabitable. With living spaces scarce and overcrowded, there will be famines, wars, social break-downs and other catastrophic horrors.
There is hope. Thank goodness for last year’s Paris Agreement, a landmark effort to fight global warming agreed to by 195 countries, including the United States. It’s an important start, passed in the nick of time. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if America leads the way? But at this point, with so many science-deniers in power, that bright hope seems to be fading.
