Parts of the United States have experienced an unusually cold winter this year. Here in North Carolina we have had three months of below freezing nighttime temperatures with temperatures in the 20s. I have lived in the Raleigh area for 25 years and have never experienced a winter this cold with d Thick layers of ice on windshields every morning and frost on house roofs remained frozen until mid-morning. Clearing snow and ice reminded me of my childhood in the 1960s in far northern New Jersey, where temperatures stayed below freezing for months and the ice on local lakes was solid enough to support the weight of a snow-clearing tractor. snow so everyone could ice skate, and we skated there for at least two months. Recent winters in my hometown have been so mild that the lake hasn't frozen at all and even the Canada geese haven't migrated south, but stayed there in New Jersey. This winter, while we were freezing in our homes here in Raleigh, the media continued to debate the issue of global warming. The conflict between the weather outside for me and the reporting on global warming made me think and wonder where the truth lies. My research found that global warming is real and actually explains the changing air currents that are causing this winter's extreme weather, which is negatively impacting millions of lives. In conclusion, the time has come when politicians must legislate strong measures to minimize man's contribution to global warming and adopt measures to provide emergency assistance wherever these severe weather events cause crises. The United States and other industrialized countries have spearheaded a movement to study the threat. of global warming... middle of paper ...... of climate change. Time is running out for the world to take action to preserve the balance that keeps our atmosphere conducive to nurturing all life on earth. Works Cited Amos, Jonathan. “Deep Ice tells a long climate story.” BBC News. BBC News. 04/09/2006. Internet. April 4, 2014. Duke, Alan. “Freezing air from the North Pole: what is this polar vortex? CNN.com. Cable News Network, January 6, 2014. Web. April 3, 2014.Howard, Brian. “New report on climate change warns of dire consequences. » National Geographic March 2014: Web. April 3, 2014. MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal, WSJ. March 24, 2014. Web April 2014. Miller, Debra. Ed. Global warming. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Print. Pollack, Henry. A World Without Ice, New York: Penguin Press, 2009. PrintSinclair, Matthew. Let them eat carbon. London: Biteback Publishing, 2011. Print