What is the polar vortex – and how is it linked to climate change?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jan/30/polar-vortex-2019-usa-what-is-it-temperatures-cold-weather-climate-change-explained

I don't really hold out much hope anymore. We have a moronic President, Senate, and a sizable portion of the House that continue to bury their heads in the sand and make light of this issue. If anything, the Green New Deal may not be enough.

THIS is our true national emergency.

a general populace of people either stupid, apathetic, lazy, uneducated and/or unwilling to do the work, make the sacrifices, walk the talk...... I am truly sorry for us

To me, this was the most depressing sentence in the op-Ed:

nobody is noticing but we're at the elbow of the temperature and sea level graphs.

It will not be pretty. We are not going to make the 2 degree Celsius target but we should still try hard because on the other side is 3 or 4 Celsius of warming or worse. That is catastrophic warming and most folks are oblivious to what will happen. Even those who are politically aware are dangerously naive about this topic.

Obama did his best to steer the ship of state in the right direction. Unfortunately, as we know only too well, the rudder has been dramatically turned and now we are headed directly over the climate cliff.

I'm pessimistic but I have not given up though I have to admit - despite knowing about this coming emergency and putting high on my political agenda for over 40 years I'm on the verge of giving up.

I studied climatology in college and I have been following the scientific discussion for at least the past 20 years. We are in serious trouble folks. Some climatologists give us only 10 - 20 years before the planet can no longer support human civilization as we now know it. And STILL we continue on with business as usual. I am extremely pessimistic in regard to the future of our planet.

I`ve done what i could personally do for thirty years, but personal doesn't do much. I've tried and failed to convince friends and family. So I volunteered for political campaigns. Really didn't do much, did it? Giving up isn't an option, but I'm not having any inspirations right now.

We're glad to have you with us! We have an active Environment and Energy Group here, if you're interested:

Environment & Energy (Group)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1127

Actually, I've been around for a while. I just tend to read more than I post. Maybe I should become more active in the Environment and Energy group. Do you think?

It's one of the most active groups on DU - with good reason - these really are perilous times and I learn something there every day.

have been aware of this for many decades... I have been talking to others about this for almost 50 years... shouldn't be anything new or mysterious to anybody

I was so proud when Al Gore brought the subject to the forefront and so horrified how it was all dismissed by right wing and conspiracy theory elements.
The biggest disappointment to me is the lack of respect for science. I have come to the conclusion you cannot be a scientist and believe that Evolution or Climate Change are not indisputable. Its almost a cult - Climate Denial and Political Affiliation is almost a given. Part of the problem comes from the internet itself. The internet has allowed any non-scientific Bozo to find allies. I have noticed recently by YouTube hits how bad this all is.
A good Scientist like Dr Keith Strong gets 300 hits a week for his Climate Change video's.
Dr Paul Beckwith gets maybe 5,000 hits a week for his video's.
Its not hard to find some Non-Scientist YouTube Bozo Conspiracy Theorist that gets 50,000-250,000 hits a week.
I have gone though all the stages of realizing we are not going to survive this. Shock, Depression, Negotiation, and Acceptance.
I say we only have one to two more functional generations before it all falls apart or 20-40 years.
I am personally surprised to see more and more Scientists come on board we have at most 12 years to Mitigate some of the Disaster headed our way or we will pass the point of no return. IPCC, COP, and The American Academy of Scientists if we have not already passed that point.
In some ways it's OK and as long as I am alive I need to find some happiness and show kindness to my fellow Mankind. Once things really go south it will happen rather quickly I believe. I will keep some thought on how it might have been on my way out.
-Airplane

And it's only gotten worse thanks to Twitler who will surely go down in history (if there is a history in the future) as the most evil man of all time. Even Hitler didn't manage to kill all life on earth. I despair of arguing science with the cult. They are determined to remain ignorant and spread false science everywhere they can. I too have been going through the stages of grief myself. Every time I go up into the Colorado mountains and see all the dead trees, I cry.

Many ecologists and climatologists are suffering from ecological grief - I certainly am.

are dying.
All the ecosystems we rely on are collapsing and it barely merits notice in the MSM. The state of the planet should be part of every nightly news cast.

and some were even talking about this problem back then.

I remember reading about global warming and
the Greenhouse Effect in the 70’s and I and
many others I knew took it seriously.

my sometimes faulty recall makes me hesitant to post without an adequate "link". I also remember having a Mead folder/binder in middle school (1977 ?) with ecologically themed artwork; a skeleton figure driving a bulldozer through a forest and stream, polluting the air, water, and soil.

why it receives less attention than individual outrages over perceived tribal slights.

electing science-hating anti-intellectuals to positions of power you think?