Cuz is doing the usual, looking at one event and ignoring the overall pattern. Weather is not climate. My mother (1913-2012) lived long enough to talk about how the average winters in New York City were getting milder, which they are, but such an observation would mean nothing if it compared any two years. Or even two decades.

Anyway, I am not at all sure that Americans are connecting the dots. Some are, particularly the younger ones, but many don't seem to get it that their rising food and insurance costs have anything to do with burning fossil fuels. And why should they, it's easy to ignore nature as "out there", until it's not.

There are dozens of others connections here, none good. The release of methane from the seabeds and tundra is what is really terrifying, a tremendous greenhouse gas, a warming world will create a positive feedback loop that lets more and more of it come out. At this point I'm not even sure that can be stopped, though obviously we've got to try.

*Arctic*

RE: OVER-POPULATION. It's hard to honestly argue against "the doomsday scenario" when considering the challenge of over-population. And it's really not that hard to perceive and understand. I think everyone knows, really, but people just will not listen to or even tolerate a discussion of the topic, much less acknowledge that anything can be done about it. Every solution I can think of is going to be utterly distasteful to substantial portions of the world's population for one reason or another, and many of those objections are quite understandable given human nature. When it comes to over-population, the Sierra Club sold us out in the early 80's, which played a large role in why constructive conversation about it in the United States effectively ended at that point.

It seems that, even more than climate disruption (it's not "change," friends -- the Republicans chose that word -- it's disruption), realistically addressing over-population is the ultimate evolutionary test for humanity.

As someone else pointed out here, we have to keep working at it. But at this point, it doesn't seem very likely that we're going to succeed, does it? It's really awful to contemplate, because so many other species -- beautiful, miraculous creatures -- are going to be taken out with us. Already are being taken out with us. And none of *them* had any choice in the matter. It all comes down to us entirely, on this one.

I agree that over population is a major contributor. This is a great site to study world population. Look at what it has done in your lifetime. The continent of Africa has tripled in population since 1980. Most will live and die in extreme poverty. The USA has doubled in population since 1953. India has doubled in population since 1975. Even China with its attempt to control population growth (one child rule) has doubled since 1965. China has 4.3X the population of the USA. 30 years ago the population in China and India had very few refrigerators, air conditioners or cars. Now most do. Think about this next time you are in stop and go traffic getting zero miles per gallon (we should use metric).

Texas has traditionally had a Summer Peak demand caused by heat and air conditioner use. Homes did not even start to be air conditioned until the 60's. But air conditioners draw electricity only. This cold snap in Texas used natural gas for home heating. This natural gas surge competed with the utilities that use natural gas to produce electricity. so, the major cause has been not enough natural gas. This is in a state that has thousands of wells that flare the excess gas and Thousands of abandoned wells that leak natural gas into the atmosphere. Texas has also doubled in population since 1980. It is not the windmills icing as Fox News will tell you. Windmills do just fine in Iowa and other ice climates. Texas is also its own grid and its own electrical regulation. There are 3 grids in the USA, East, West and Texas. Texas wants to remain its own grid because it is Freedumb. Peak demand is a very real problem for the utilities. Normal average production vs peak demand can be huge. to meet the demand, they have to draw from other parts of the country or have a bunch of idol power plants that can be brought online to meet the demand. These idol plants have to have trained operators and maintenance personnel to keep them ready. That costs a lot to staff non-operating plants. This is why I am in favor of a National Grid. It makes no sense to have hundreds of small utilities, that are local monopolies, that are only interested in their small local areas. With a National Grid we would be looking at the entire country. We could have DC (low line loss) transmission from east to west and north to south. This would even out our demand. Also, a National Grid would buy electricity from the private producers at low bid. Right now, you pay for whatever they can get away with in your local area and there is no competition.

It is fun to watch!

Excellent call on the issue of food security. Despite having a huge agricultural sector, the U.S. is very exposed to food shortages due to a very inefficient food system in terms of people fed per hectare.

Fully 67% of the calories produced by U.S. agriculture go to animal feed. Having substantial acreage tied up feed production, with crops that people cannot eat, creates yet another risk for human nutrition. The challenge of converting cropland from feed to food activities is substantial. The economic dislocation will be considerable as would the political fallout from the small population states. That is not to mention the ecological toll that factory animal agriculture exacts in terms of water pollution, methane, and CO2.

Interesting University of Minnesota study at https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034015

Did the Russians finally find the Administrator? It is very quite on the Western Front.

Of course cuz is a climate denier and a Limbaugh dittohead. That wasn't hard to figure out.

KMA, Rush. May you rot in hell for hopelessly poisoning America's political discourse with your despicable, "tongue-in-cheek" lies.

Or, his worst nightmare, may he be reborn as a Democratic black transgender woman in a "far-left," pro-choice, "libtard" family of feminists, vegetarians, and socialists who believe in science, in renewable energy, in the truth of human-caused climate destruction, in Medicare for all, in taxpayer-funded higher education, and in taxing the hell out of the traitorous greedheads on Wall Street to pay for it all.

Or better yet, may Limpball's fat, greasy body be skewered on a spit and slowly roasted over fire and brimstone on the sacrificial alter of cannibalistic, Satan-worshipping pedophiles. Now that would be karmic justice ...and just really damn funny.

Yes, his, ah, "bombastic style" and "humor" will be sorely missed -- almost as fun as squeezing your hemorrhoids.

Yup, this latest cold snap is proof positive that climate destruction science is nothing but a goddamn liberal plot to destroy America's competitive advantage.

#'s 5 & 6, Riverplunge, SysBanana.

We are bacteria on a petri dish in an unforgiving vacuum lost in endless blackness. It doesn't look like anyone will come to our rescue any time soon, if ever. And our gods are warring with each other, as always.

Last spring while digging camping gear out of the shed, I came across an old aluminum coffee percolator, which had been put away a few years prior with grounds left in the basket that had turned into a fine white powder.

"...for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." - KJV: Genesis 3-19

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2020, it fell on August 22.