The Eastern USA experienced record-cold temperatures during the last days of 2017 and first days of 2018. Some point to this as “proof” of the fact that Earth as a whole has not been Warming for decades. The absurdity of such a statement is mind-boggling. This kind of myopic worldview is typical of many in the Western world today. It seems difficult for some to perceive anything beyond their immediate reality. In terms of both time and space, people have forgotten everything that does not directly affect them or reinforce their preconceived notions.

Record cold does not negate record heat

One Cold week for one small section of one continent on the planet does not override entire decades of data on the planet as a whole. Furthermore, while half of America experienced record cold, the rest of the Earth experienced higher than average temperatures. Even Southern California broke a few high-temperature records at the very same time the East coast was undergoing record lows. CNN reports that areas such as Kingman, Arizona are experiencing record highs. Just last Friday, over 32 record highs were recorded, say CNN meteorologists.

Mental gymnastics used to escape harsh realities

Warming deniers are employing a psychological tactic known as “counting the hits and excluding the misses”.

It involves counting what may be seen as evidence to support your beliefs while ignoring or denying everything that disproves them.

For example, warming deniers have to choose not to see the video of the starving polar bear that made headlines in December of 2017. Or, as an alternative, it can be rationalized away. Perhaps it’s just a normal ice-thaw (in the dead of winter).

Or maybe we’re going through a natural cycle caused by the sun (even though nothing like this has happened for millions of years). Some go so far as to claim that we're entering a new cold ice age and that carbon dioxide is good for the planet.

To be fair, the political theatrics employed around this issue do not help people take it seriously. The Washington Examiner reports that "Earth will become a desert without climate deal," according to scientists. As if one agreement based on cutting carbon emissions will solve the entire warming problem or not doing so will be the end of all things.

Definitely not normal

As I’ve mentioned previously, Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction event.

Species are becoming extinct at speeds that far exceed the normal background rates. Forest fires are raging across the globe to an extent never seen before. The oceans are dying faster than anything, including once-thriving coral reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. UV radiation has become so intense that reports of whales having severe sunburns have become commonplace. And there have been too many mass die-offs of fish or other ocean animals washing up ashore in recent years to count. For example, a few years ago, millions of dead crabs washed ashore in Southern California. Mainstream news sources noted that it might be due to the oceans being a few degrees warmer than average.

Yet this was downplayed as being something normal.

What’s happening to planet Earth is not normal. It has not been seen before in human history and not in millions of years of the planet’s history. Scientists have determined this by examining ice sheets in the Arctic. By analyzing the gas contents of bubbles within the ice, it’s possible to see what the atmosphere was like many millennia ago. Current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are near one million-year highs.

One thing’s for sure – things haven’t been this bad for a long time, and they have gotten exponentially worse over the last 100 years. The graphic below dispells any myths of a cold planet, despite what may be happening in one tiny section of the Earth at this point in time.
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