Terribly cold temperatures are rocking the East Coast of the United States this week, and US President Donald Trump has used the situation to voice his support for climate change, saying that the coast “could use a little bit of that good old Global warming.” The country is freezing and everyone’s getting colds, but that doesn’t mean that climate change is a good thing. It’s causing floods and hurricanes and melting ice caps.
This is yet another example of Trump using something totally irrelevant to support one of his Republican policies. Earlier this year, he decided to pull out of the Paris agreement – a landmark UN deal signed by ex-President Barack Obama and almost every other country in the world that would have reduced the effects of climate change – and it was one of the most divisive decisions of his entire Presidency.
America is the second largest carbon emitter on the planet, and their taking part in the Paris accord was essential in the fight against climate change.
But Trump rationalised his decision to pull out of the agreement by reminding the US that he and the rest of the Republican Party don’t believe that climate change exists – they think it’s a myth made up by China (for some reason). However, he clearly does believe in global warming, but only when it suits him, since he’s now saying that some “good old global warming” would be handy for the country. So, he’s changed his tune from ‘climate change doesn’t exist’ to ‘climate change does exist, but it’s a good thing, because it’s a bit cold in December, so we need it.’
Trump to freezing East Coast citizens: ‘Bundle up!’
Trump tweeted, as he often does, that on the East Coast of America this year, New Year’s Eve could be “the COLDEST...on record.” So, he added that the country “could use a little bit of that good old global warming,” which “our country, but not other countries” – yes, other countries, because almost every country in the world signed the thing (even North Korea!) – was set to fork over “TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against,” before he pulled out of the Paris agreement.
Right, but the only reason that other countries wouldn’t have been paying out quite as much as the American government (if they had any sense) is that other countries don’t emit as much dangerous carbon gas into the atmosphere as the USA. There are parts of America right now that are suffering record levels of snowfall, while larger parts of the country have been facing sub-zero temperatures over the Christmas season.
Five feet of snowfall in parts of Pennsylvania
In the Pennsylvania city of Erie (not far from New York City on the East Coast), citizens were hit with five feet of snowfall over the 48-hour time space between Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Local officials declared the situation an emergency. The eastern region of the United States (and even areas towards the center of the country) are preparing themselves for a serious cold snap that is set to turn their neighborhoods into an Arctic wasteland over this coming New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day weekend.
But critics are saying that Trump’s tweet, which links this cold climate to global warming, fails to make a distinction between the weather and the climate. The President doesn’t seem to realise that these are two different very things – weather refers to the conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time, whereas climate looks at weather patterns over a longer period. The Minnesota city of Minneapolis (the setting of “Fargo,” so cold temperatures are expected there anyway) is expected to take the coldest hit, as its temperature is expected to drop to as low as -17 degrees Celsius by Saturday. Snow joke.
