Denial on ice: the polar vortex of confusion

The polar vortex that swept across North America this holiday was one that left both the ground and politicians rather frosty, albeit for different reasons.

As the temperatures dropped and ice hardened across the country, more and more famous faces appeared across the media denying global warming. Many justified their arguments by pointing out what they considered to be the obvious: how can we be causing global warming when it is just so cold?

200 million people were affected by the snow storm that plunged temperatures to as low as -12°C in Chicago last week, with over a dozen deaths reported as a direct result of the weather. The Niagara Falls were brought to an icy standstill, schools and workplaces across the country were closed and thousands of flights were grounded. The economic impact the storm had was estimated at around $5 billion.

The cause of the cold was the breakdown of the Arctic polar vortex. Polar vortices are actually persistent cyclones permanently located at the geographical poles of the Earth. They are cold-core, low pressure areas of the stratosphere that are caused by the differences in temperatures between the equator and the poles, and span around 1,000 km in size.

The breakdown was triggered by a sudden temperature increase in the polar stratosphere, causing the westerly winds of the vortex to reverse due to alterations in the usual pressure differences. The vortex spread southward, outward beyond its usual confines of the Arctic Circle to encompass Northern Europe as well as North America, with cold fronts being felt as far south as Florida.

Despite the localised effects being a decrease in temperature, the overall shift of the polar vortex may have actually been an example, albeit counterintuitive, of global warming in action, something concurrent with the consensus on climate change taken by the scientific community.

A recent study looked at papers peer-reviewed and published about the climate in the past year, and found that out of 2259 articles, from 9136 authors, only one of those scientists did not believe global warming to be a reality. However, this pales in comparison to the numbers of people from both the mainstream US media and politics who also deny global warming in the wake of the arctic weather conditions.

Donald Trump, the well-known American investor and real state entrepreneur, the stateside equivalent of Sir Alan Sugar on The Apprentice, and rumoured presidential candidate for 2016, took to twitter to say this of the USA’s cold snap:

The Fox News website, never one to stay out of an argument, chose its side of the debate by publishing an opinion piece by Matt Patterson, the senior editor at the Capital Research Center, stating that “global warming is the most widespread mass hysteria in our species’ history.”

Others decided to link those considering global warming to be a reality as deluded as those who believe that Jesus will not return in some sort of glorious second coming:

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, who once built an igloo in his garden labelled “Al Gore’s new home,” stated that climate change is apparently a harmless act of God, and stated that the polar vortex breakdown was further evidence that global warming is a “hoax.”

He went on to interrupt a debate over unemployment insurance in Senate last week, to offer up the seemingly relevant insight that it’s “a little bit humorous to me that we are talking about extending unemployment benefits in the midst of one of the most intense cold fronts in American history…It has to make everyone question…whether global warming was ever real.” Such words resonated with particular discomfort due to the fact that Inhofe is currently a ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

In fact, over one hundred state representatives have been on the record denying global warming, whilst 24 Senate members have also voiced distrust in what is universally accepted by the scientific community. Some of the more damning quotes made by these politicians include:

“There isn’t any real science to say we are altering the climate path of the earth.” (Sen. Roy Blunt)

“[Scientists] are making up their facts to fit their conclusions. They’ve already caught them doing this,” (Sen. Rand Paul)

_“I do not think the science clearly supports global warming theory.” _(Sen. David Vitter)

“_Global warming has not been proven to the satisfaction of the constituents I seek to serve.” _(Rep. Trey Gowdy)

Other politicians may agree with the scientific community, but still struggle to see the importance of climate change, or simply flounder when formulating intelligent opinions on the matter. Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu has previously urged President Obama to stop the Democratic Party focussing on climate change entirely, whilst Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson stated that global warming will be good for farmer’s crops, as the warmer weather will allow them to grow more corn.

Luckily those with the ultimate power were quick to step in on the debate. Obama’s science advisor John Holdren stated in a two minute video in a blog released by the White House on Wednesday that “If you’ve been hearing that extreme cold spells like the one we’re having in the United States now disprove global warming, don’t believe it.”

The blog went on to say that “…This week’s cold spell is of a type there’s reason to believe may become more frequent in a world that’s getting warmer, on average, because of greenhouse-gas pollution.”

Encouragingly, the White House has also arranged a Google+ hangout today (Friday the 17th) to publically debunk claims that the harsh winter spell was proof that climate change does not exist. The discussion, called “We the Geeks,” will feature government officials and independent scientists in a final bid to push back against the climate change deniers that have been allowed such a grand platform in the American mainstream media.

Although this may raise further concerns around why the most powerful people in the USA are using dysfunctional social media constructs to debate international issues, it is a positive step forward. It is also a step that not only shows that the US government is ignoring the incorrect opinions of Trump and others, but adds to the greater efforts the US government is finally taking to counteract global warming.

Obama recently introduced the Global Climate Change Initiative, outlining the promise to invest more in technologies aiding climate adaptation whilst simultaneously reducing emissions, and also ensuring the sustainability of economic growth in climate sensitive sectors.

The Secretary of State, John Kerry has always been passionate about climate change too; after he negotiated an agreement with China to stop hydrofluorocarbon usage, he plans to aid the implementation of a new climate treaty in 2015 that will commit the USA, and others, to significantly reduce fossil fuel pollution.

With US economics driven by oil and coal it is easy to see why those who benefit from fossil fuel sales most may turn a blind eye or even deny the long-term effects of fossil fuel burning. However, no amount of tweets, debates or comment pieces are going to discredit the increasing scientific evidence that global warming is a very real, and a very damaging phenomenon.

It seems that this polar vortex brought with it not only a front of icy winds and snowy storms, but also a new wave of scientific ignorance within the depths of American politics that, if not addressed, will persist long after the Niagara Falls begin to flow once more.