It’s As Cold As Ice — Are You Willing to Sacrifice?
Consumers Energy wants you to turn down your thermostat. Climate change demands bigger lifestyle changes.
Amid record cold temperatures, Michiganders got a jolt last night when phones started blaring an emergency tone.
The alert was from Consumers Energy, asking everyone to turn down their thermostats to 65 degrees.
The request came due to a combination of increased demand for natural gas and a fire at a Consumers facility in Macomb County.
Brian Wheeler, a spokesperson for Consumers Energy, joins Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson to discuss what happened and give an update on the ongoing situation.
Meanwhile, the windchill brought the coldest weather we’ve felt in 25 years. The weather event known as the Polar Vortex shoved cold air down from the Arctic, and made the Midwest a very cold place to be, closing schools and many businesses and services.
President Donald Trump took the opportunity to joke about global warming, insinuating that the extreme cold disproves climate science that suggests the planet is warming up due to man-made forces.
In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2019
Does climate change play a role in events like the polar vortex? Are these events becoming more frequent? And, if so, what needs to be done?
Steve Vavrus, senior scientist at the Nelson Institute Center for Climate Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison joins the program, along with Nick Shroeck, environmental law expert and director of clinical programs at the University of Detroit-Mercy Law.
Click on the audio player above to hear those conversations.
