WEATHER

I wasn’t going to start on about the weather; I thought my declaration about wearing two pairs of pants was enough. [I’m wearing two pairs now, and I hate pants…so much.]

So the “Polar Vortex” has killed people as the US government continues to cut heating assistance for the poor. Tara Culp-Ressler has a piece up on ThinkProgrss about the deaths attributed to the “polar vortex.”  At this point we have about 21 deaths as of Tuesday according to the Associated Press. The previous snow storm killed 16. The extreme cold is associated with spikes in the number of deaths, and of course the low-income are more vulnerable because of a lack of access to well-heated homes.

Culp-Ressler pointed out that some of the temperatures in North Dakota could freeze human flesh in five minutes…WTF. In addition to deaths of those without adequate shelter, at least five people died while clearing and shoveling snow in these temperatures. Of course, with the ice there are deaths associated with car and transportation accidents. Also, more people are coming in to emergency rooms for treatment for hypothermia. We also all know that there aren’t enough spaces in homeless shelters.

All of this is awful, but hey it is supposed to be in the 60s this weekend…so those who are strong enough to survive will be able to bask in mild temperatures this weekend.