... or you can believe the senator with the snowball...

[pixy0stix]

www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/climate-skeptic-senator-burned-after-snowball-stunt/

“In case we have forgotten, because we keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record, I ask the chair, you know what this is? It’s a snowball. And that’s just from outside here. So it’s very, very cold out.”

Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, the biggest and loudest climate change denier in Congress, last week on the floor of the senate. But his facile argument, that it’s cold enough for snow to exist in Washington, D.C., therefore climate change is a hoax, was rebutted in the same venue by Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse:

“You can believe NASA and you can believe what their satellites measure on the planet, or you can believe the Senator with the snowball. The United States Navy takes this very seriously, to the point where Admiral Locklear, who is the head of the Pacific Command, has said that climate change is the biggest threat that we face in the Pacific…you can either believe the United States Navy or you can believe the Senator with the snowball…every major American scientific society has put itself on record, many of them a decade ago, that climate change is deadly real. They measure it, they see it, they know why it happens. The predictions correlate with what we see as they increasingly come true. And the fundamental principles, that it is derived from carbon pollution, which comes from burning fossil fuels, are beyond legitimate dispute…so you can believe every single major American scientific society, or you can believe the Senator with the snowball.”

[meshaliuknits]

We deserve what we get don't we?

Sent from my EVO

[pixy0stix]

Mar 3, 2015 17:23:27 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

We deserve what we get don't we?

Sent from my EVO

I don't! I keep fighting the good fight!

But yeah, in reality we do. See the kcup thread from yesterday.

[zelda25]

OMG these fuckers make me want to throw things!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, we're in the midst of our warmest, driest winter ever. Ever. E. V. E. R. How come these assholes never talk about that?

Weather is not climate!

[cattledogkisses]

If the Senator would actually look at the data he'd realize that, other than eastern North America and, like, Kazakhstan, basically everywhere else on the planet was warmer than average last year.  (Source: NOAA)

[lahoagie]

Mar 3, 2015 17:33:37 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

OMG these fuckers make me want to throw things!

Watch out! Those fuckers are armed with snowballs.

[AJL]

Mar 3, 2015 16:45:34 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/climate-skeptic-senator-burned-after-snowball-stunt/

“In case we have forgotten, because we keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record, I ask the chair, you know what this is? It’s a snowball. And that’s just from outside here. So it’s very, very cold out.”

If there was ever a more appropriate use for this meme, it's for this chuckle-fuck.

[aurora]

Mar 3, 2015 17:33:07 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Mar 3, 2015 17:23:27 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

We deserve what we get don't we?

Sent from my EVO

I don't! I keep fighting the good fight!

But yeah, in reality we do. See the kcup thread from yesterday.

My biggest regret from this weekend is not engaging you directly on a climate change conversation.  I was too far off my game, I guess.

[ringstrue]

Also. If you can make a snowball out of snow, it is not "very, very cold" outside. It's just cold. Cuz it's winter.

[aurora]

Mar 3, 2015 17:34:53 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

If the Senator would actually look at the data he'd realize that, other than eastern North America and, like, Kazakhstan, basically everywhere else on the planet was warmer than average last year.  (Source: NOAA)

You know, I hadn't really thought of it this way before, but honestly I do wonder how much this localized effect is hurting U.S. policy on climate change.  It seems like a huge portion of the disbelief comes from the colder parts of the country, whereas the West is terrified of never having water again and the rest of the world thinks we're nuts. 

[cattledogkisses]

Mar 3, 2015 17:56:51 GMT -5 ringstrue said:

Also. If you can make a snowball out of snow, it is not "very, very cold" outside. It's just cold. Cuz it's winter.

Yes!  It has to be "warm" to have sticky snow!

[pixy0stix]

Mar 3, 2015 17:57:38 GMT -5 aurora said:

Mar 3, 2015 17:34:53 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

If the Senator would actually look at the data he'd realize that, other than eastern North America and, like, Kazakhstan, basically everywhere else on the planet was warmer than average last year.  (Source: NOAA)

You know, I hadn't really thought of it this way before, but honestly I do wonder how much this localized effect is hurting U.S. policy on climate change.  It seems like a huge portion of the disbelief comes from the colder parts of the country, whereas the West is terrified of never having water again and the rest of the world thinks we're nuts. 

I'm sure it has a lot to do with it. People tend to believe what they know. So living in a cold climate, it's much harder to believe that the rest of the world is sweltering.

The same with people not understanding the impacts of what they're throwing away. By and large our trash is taken away to dumps/landfills never to be seen again. They don't understand the sheer immensity of the problem because they never see it.

[zelda25]

Mar 3, 2015 17:57:38 GMT -5 aurora said:

Mar 3, 2015 17:34:53 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

You know, I hadn't really thought of it this way before, but honestly I do wonder how much this localized effect is hurting U.S. policy on climate change.  It seems like a huge portion of the disbelief comes from the colder parts of the country, whereas the West is terrified of never having water again and the rest of the world thinks we're nuts. 

I said that to H the other day; I think because most of the US population is in a deep-freeze, it's easy to forget the parts of the country that are in drought and/or experiencing wildly abnormal high temps.

[ringstrue]

Maybe Inhofe thinks he's in the south - too much House of Cards?

[ESF]

Mar 3, 2015 18:03:06 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

Mar 3, 2015 17:57:38 GMT -5 aurora said:

You know, I hadn't really thought of it this way before, but honestly I do wonder how much this localized effect is hurting U.S. policy on climate change.  It seems like a huge portion of the disbelief comes from the colder parts of the country, whereas the West is terrified of never having water again and the rest of the world thinks we're nuts. 

I said that to H the other day; I think because most of the US population is in a deep-freeze, it's easy to forget the parts of the country that are in drought and/or experiencing wildly abnormal high temps.

A friend of mine from Washington DC is in town right now for a conference. Last night, he was talking about how amazing the weather is here in California and joking about how everyone out east should want to come out this way, and I joked that they all may want to stay put, given that the state is going to run out of water any day now.

 He had no idea what I was talking about.  And then when I explained, he was still thinking about it in terms of "Will people just not water their lawns?"  It took him a bit for the consequences - the rising costs of food, the economic impact to people who live here, etc - to sink in.

So I think it's not just that people are forgetting about the drought, it's that the story isn't told to them as a serious, long term problem that is going to start having national repercussions.  They think of it like that summer their town sent around flyers urging people to curb water use because there wasn't enough rainfall that one year, not as a major disaster in the works.

[heyjude]

Mar 3, 2015 18:32:19 GMT -5 ESF said:

Mar 3, 2015 18:03:06 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

I said that to H the other day; I think because most of the US population is in a deep-freeze, it's easy to forget the parts of the country that are in drought and/or experiencing wildly abnormal high temps.

A friend of mine from Washington DC is in town right now for a conference. Last night, he was talking about how amazing the weather is here in California and joking about how everyone out east should want to come out this way, and I joked that they all may want to stay put, given that the state is going to run out of water any day now.

 He had no idea what I was talking about.  And then when I explained, he was still thinking about it in terms of "Will people just not water their lawns?"  It took him a bit for the consequences - the rising costs of food, the economic impact to people who live here, etc - to sink in.

So I think it's not just that people are forgetting about the drought, it's that the story isn't told to them as a serious, long term problem that is going to start having national repercussions.  They think of it like that summer their town sent around flyers urging people to curb water use because there wasn't enough rainfall that one year, not as a major disaster in the works.

Not even everyone in California fucking gets it. I just read that personal use of water went down all over the state during the past 4 years of the drought except for one place: SAN DIEGO. Use of water actually went UP in SD during the drought. Assholes. Where do they think water comes from?! Magical gnomes?!

/tangent

[josieposy]

I'm actually starting to think we're gonna have a drought in at least parts of MN this year. We have gotten all of the cold and none of the snow.

[litebright]

I liked this because of the response. That's at least a little reassuring.

[downtoearth]

...and don't forget that Snowmen love eternal summer. Maybe Senator Inhofe can just quote Frozen next time he's on the floor and denying climate change when he doesn't have a snowball handy.

[meshaliuknits]

Mar 3, 2015 18:37:26 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Mar 3, 2015 18:32:19 GMT -5 ESF said:

A friend of mine from Washington DC is in town right now for a conference. Last night, he was talking about how amazing the weather is here in California and joking about how everyone out east should want to come out this way, and I joked that they all may want to stay put, given that the state is going to run out of water any day now.

 He had no idea what I was talking about.  And then when I explained, he was still thinking about it in terms of "Will people just not water their lawns?"  It took him a bit for the consequences - the rising costs of food, the economic impact to people who live here, etc - to sink in.

So I think it's not just that people are forgetting about the drought, it's that the story isn't told to them as a serious, long term problem that is going to start having national repercussions.  They think of it like that summer their town sent around flyers urging people to curb water use because there wasn't enough rainfall that one year, not as a major disaster in the works.

Not even everyone in California fucking gets it. I just read that personal use of water went down all over the state during the past 4 years of the drought except for one place: SAN DIEGO. Use of water actually went UP in SD during the drought. Assholes. Where do they think water comes from?! Magical gnomes?!

/tangent

Oh COME ON!

Sent from my EVO

[ESF]

Mar 3, 2015 18:37:26 GMT -5 heyjude said:

Mar 3, 2015 18:32:19 GMT -5 ESF said:

A friend of mine from Washington DC is in town right now for a conference. Last night, he was talking about how amazing the weather is here in California and joking about how everyone out east should want to come out this way, and I joked that they all may want to stay put, given that the state is going to run out of water any day now.

 He had no idea what I was talking about.  And then when I explained, he was still thinking about it in terms of "Will people just not water their lawns?"  It took him a bit for the consequences - the rising costs of food, the economic impact to people who live here, etc - to sink in.

So I think it's not just that people are forgetting about the drought, it's that the story isn't told to them as a serious, long term problem that is going to start having national repercussions.  They think of it like that summer their town sent around flyers urging people to curb water use because there wasn't enough rainfall that one year, not as a major disaster in the works.

Not even everyone in California fucking gets it. I just read that personal use of water went down all over the state during the past 4 years of the drought except for one place: SAN DIEGO. Use of water actually went UP in SD during the drought. Assholes. Where do they think water comes from?! Magical gnomes?!

/tangent

My landlord, who deals with pro-environment type issues in her job, and who chastised us shortly after we first moved here about how our composting and recycling sorting was not up to bay area standards, told us last summer that she still wanted us to be watering her plants in the yard.

Denial runs deep.