Winter Be Gone

I am so done with this winter as I'm sure you are too. With all these polar vortexes we have experienced it has been a brutal one. By now the average highs we should be experiencing each day would be in the mid-30s if it were a "normal" year. The maple sap should be flowing too, but all we've gotten so far is one batch. My kids and I have been sick for a month now. We need some spring-like weather to help us get better.

So does this polar vortex stuff and very cold winter mean climate change is over or on a hiatus? Nope.

The above map shows winter temperatures around the globe in January 2014. Though the Eastern US experienced below average temperatures, most of the world was having above average temperatures. In Alaska temperatures soared to record temps causing rainfall and plants to turn green in January. 

In February, at the Olympic Games in Sochi Russia snow making teams had to scramble to keep the snow usable as temperatures soared up to 60°F. Meanwhile in the American Southeast snowstorms paralyzed areas that rarely experience any snow at all. The polar vortex, caused by weakening Arctic winds due to warming, caused havoc over the American continent.

As much as I want to winter to be over, I don't want to rush into summer heat waves either. All I want is a stable climate. Come on Congress, get your act together. Pass a fee on carbon pollution. Studies have shown that such a fee would actually spur economic development.

Fellow citizens, have you written to your congressperson lately? Ask them to support climate legislation.

Still wish for spring too.