Trump: We Could Use Some Global Warming

The New York Times reports:

With unusually frigid weather gripping much of the Eastern United States this week, President Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to cast doubt on the reality of climate change, but he appeared unaware of the distinction between weather and climate.

Climate refers to how the atmosphere acts over a long period of time, while weather describes what’s happening on a much shorter time scale. The climate can be thought of, in a way, as the sum of long periods of weather.

Or, to use an analogy Mr. Trump might appreciate, weather is how much money you have in your pocket today, whereas climate is your net worth. A billionaire who has forgotten his wallet one day is not poor, anymore than a poor person who lands a windfall of several hundred dollars is suddenly rich. What matters is what happens over the long term.

ABC News reports:

Scientifically, climate change is measured over larger timeframes, not a handful of days, and not in one location. Last year was the hottest year on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Currently, 2017 is on track to be the third-warmest year on record, the NOAA says, behind only 2016 and 2015.

The comment on the U.S. paying “trillions of dollars” is apparently a reference to the Paris Agreement, which the U.S. pulled out of in June.

Trump cited the deal as being bad for the U.S. economy in a speech from the Rose Garden. With Syria’s acceptance of the accord in November, the U.S. is now the only U.N. country not to be part of the 2015 agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 29, 2017

He’s going for the same audience that believes Obama is not an American citizen and that there was an eight year war on Christmas. Facts don’t matter as much as feeling. If anything, facts just get in the way.

— CT Compromise (@CT_Compromise) December 29, 2017

This may be the dumbest thing that you have tweeted in 2017. And that is saying something.

— Simon Hedlin (@simonhedlin) December 29, 2017