Global Warming and the Polar Vortex

In which Hank talks about why it's cold, and why extreme weather makes us talk about global warming, and why this is precisely the wrong way to think about...average global atmospheric energy increase.

[LindsayMead]

"'It's cold here, that means global warming doesn't exist' is like saying I have a calculator which is proof that Jean-Claude Van Damme eats turnips." FUCKING AMEN!

[TheTaskmaster]

1:07  It's actually like saying "There's a sale on today, proving that prices on everything are going down worldwide.  Inflation is a myth."

[akaKakashiFanatic]

My dad's one of those people who thinks global warming doesn't exist and was a sham invented by Al Gore and the liberals, and he uses every cold day as an opportunity to say "SEE!? It's a myth! It's a money-making scheme!"
Although I never really understood what global warming was, I always had a feeling something was off and overly-biased about his arguments.
Thanks for shedding some light on the subject, Hank. Though I don't think I'll be convincing my dad anytime soon, at least I understand a little more. (:

[DaHitch]

Allow me to steal this from Twitter:
Global warming and the cold weather.
"Liberals keep telling me the Titanic is sinking, but my side of the ship is 500 feet in the air."
from @nerdyjewishgirl

[SmokeySmudgeStudio]

that bit at the end...

It cannot be unseen...

[mrandrewv]

I'm depressed that so many people still believe that climate change isn't happening, and still use arguments that were debunked a decade ago to defend their position.

But I am cheered by the fact that more and more people are making the effort to educate themselves about it, and inform others as well :)

[bobjenz]

Now I know how to say the plural form of Vortex. Thanks Hank!!!

[SeitanSaidDance]

Someone suggested calling it Global Wierding, which I think sums up the problem we're creating quite well.

[boredwillow]

"I'm not going to change everything with a video blog"

Really Hank? After all this time do you really still believe that?

[chefkendranguyen]

Many of us do have a giant problem thinking globally in the US, unfortunately. I like the energy change idea is good.

[crystadette]

People *need* to start being angry about this, and not just because "it's starting to affect us". Hank, thank you so much for being one of them.

[ImpakaWarrior]

that end was so unexpected.. biggest plot twist of my life

[TryTheBLT]

I'm glad he made the point about how global climate change will affect the weather. This is a point I continuously try to make with others who deny "global warming". The fact is that global climate change means that places where it is currently hot will become temperate or even cold, and vice versa. It doesn't mean that cold will disappear, it means that the climate of the planet is CHANGING and it will affect different parts of the globe differently. Yet overall the temperature of the planet itself will become warmer. Deserts will have more rain. Rain forests will become drier. The arctic will warm up. The temperate zones will have wild fluctuations in local weather. That's what climate change is doing. I just wish the debunkers used logic rather than the arguments created by the coal and oil industry who have a vested interest in preventing any environmental changes to save the planet from this devastating event. The oil industry is the most powerful and profitable on earth. Annually, the oil industry makes in excess of $17 TRILLION - that's enough to pay off the United States national debt. They are powerful, rich, and have access to the best behavior modification experts, propagandists, and advertising agencies to twist public opinion. Unfortunately, it doesn't take a lot to trick the public.

[RyldPharaun]

Weather's been getting weird the last couple of years. It hasn't even snowed here in Poland yet. It's been mostly around 5-12°C. This winter it's colder in Egypt than it is in Poland, so I can believe something's wrong with the climate.

[TheTommyMalone]

'If your town heated up 4 degrees Celsius you wouldn't even talk about it!'

I live in England. Trust me Hank, we'd talk about it.

[sillybella]

Silly Hank, like you've never changed the world with a vlog. ;)

[faolan]

One Australian climatologist called it "global weirdening"

[telltellyn]

Meanwhile in Australia, 2013 was the hottest year on record, and the first fortnight of 2014 is easily on track to beat that record again. There was a town which hit 53 degrees celsius last week (that's 127 F).

[MrNtane]

I learn so much more through the internet than I did in school, I like this guy.

[Joubes]

I've seen things now, and I can't unsee them...