It’s fucking cold in Michigan and all over the Midwest. Memories of last winter are sticking to the bottoms of our boots like snow being tracked through a house; it’s that feeling you get when you step in an icy puddle with socks on–damp and unpleasant.

But this bitterly cold weather isn’t from the polar vortex this time. Last year was a weirder thing. The air that circulates around the North Pole literally shifted way down south. This time it’s just weather and air currents, doin’ their thing, pushing the cold air down.

This cold air brings me to my next point, something that I saw on the social media sphere. My friend Lauren posted an article on Facebook about how the global temperature is still rising. Global warming hasn’t stopped even though we’re all freezing our booties off.

And someone commented, “I personally find it hard to believe any warming happened in Michigan last year!”

Here’s a little clarity.

When the Earth’s temperature rises, it causes all the weather patterns in local areas like the Midwest, to start pushing towards the extremes. And as the temperatures continue to rise, those extremes will start to drop away like onionskin so enjoy the snow while you have it.

I personally find the term “global warming” misleading. That’s not to say it’s inaccurate, it just leads to some confusion. Climate change is more accurate since a warming globe causes the climate to change–it gets at the changes, the results.

Even though we have negative wind chills, climate change is still happening.