Somehow, there are still people who choose to ignore the vast majority of scientists who say that climate change is a pressing problem, caused by human activity. Especially now that the Republican Party is the Majority Party in almost every branch of government (it physically hurt me to type that), we need to be vocal and educate ourselves on the issue of climate change and what can be done. Here are some things that climate change deniers often say and why they're stupid.

1. “It's really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!" – Donald Trump

I literally have no words for how stupid this is. Just because it’s really cold in a few places for a few months doesn’t mean we should welcome global warming with open arms. That’s like seeing one of those news stories about a lion and a human that became best friends, then going and trying to hug the lion in the zoo. The lion may look different when it’s cuddling with a photographer, but they are still unpredictable as hell and can still rip you to pieces. (Also, the fact that this is a Donald Trump quote is pure coincidence)

Oxford Dictionary’s definition of climate change is “a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.” Just because it is cold somewhere doesn’t mean that global warming isn’t real. In fact, a “major freeze” fits the criteria of irregular weather patterns. Scientists have found that warmer weather in one place, northwestern Alaska for example, can cause colder weather in other places, like the Central and Eastern United States. The warming of traditionally cold places contributes more moisture to the jet stream, which changes where the jet stream travels and carries cold Arctic air.

Last year Boston, Baltimore and Harrisburg all had their all-time snowfall records broken with the Winter Storm Jonas. In 2010, there was a winter storm so bad in northeastern states that they named it Snowmageddon or Snowpocalypse. You know something isn’t right when people are literally comparing the end of the world with the weather.

2. “The jury is still out on climate change.”

Well, not really. 97% of environmental scientists have agreed that global warming is happening and that it is caused by human activity. They even started a petition because people weren’t believing them. 18 reputable scientific associations, science academies and government agencies have released statements affirming this as well. If you choose to listen to a Republican politician with an agenda, that’s your choice I guess, but you can’t really say that the science doesn’t agree unless you think you’re smarter than thousands of professional scientists with PhD’s and years of education and experience of specific study on the environment.

3. “We’ll let future generations deal with it.”

First of all, that’s kind of an asshole move. If we know there’s this huge problem that can potentially destroy the planet that we all live on, you can’t just pretend it’s not your issue and ignore it.

But mostly, even if that is an okay thing to do, we may not have that luxury. We are already seeing the effects of global warming around the world. Now is the only chance we have to possibly reverse these effects, otherwise it’s going to snowball beyond our control, and it will be too late.

The melting of the Arctic ice caps has caused rising sea levels, which have already completely submerged some of the smaller and uninhabited Solomon Islands in the Pacific Rim, as well as flooded parts of larger islands, forcing families and villages to evacuate.

Coral reefs have been dying due to overfishing, coastal development, pollution and CO2 emissions. This is incredibly sad because coral reefs contain some of the most vibrant and diverse wildlife and organisms in the world.

They also protect shores from waves and storms and provide economic benefits to local communities. I went scuba diving in the Philippines, and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. 20% of the world’s coral reefs have been destroyed. We want our future generations to be able to experience this beauty as well.

The ocean is one of nature’s defense mechanisms for CO2, but the levels have been too high and are warming the ocean up to dangerous temperatures. This also increases the acidity in the waters, which is harmful for all kinds of marine animals. Coastal flooding has increased as well.

Basically, scientists have been able to mostly predict the effects of global warming up to this point. Temperatures have warmed about 1.5-2 degrees Celsius to date, but if we continue as we have been and do not completely change what we do, it has been predicted that the Earth will warm up to 4 degrees Celsius or more. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but scientists have no idea what will happen if it reaches that point. The possibilities are not fun.

4. “Moving away from oil might cost millions of jobs.”

For one, the public figures who say this most likely benefit or are under the power of the oil industry. Also, the renewable energy industry is going to be extremely profitable, and possibly even more jobs will be created in that industry once it becomes the main power source. Clean energy costs much, much less to produce than fossil fuels, and the industry and implementation will expand with this. And even if this myth was true, much more than jobs are destroyed when it comes to the effects of climate change. Hundreds of animal, plants and marine species will die out, and flooding, intense hurricanes, snowstorms, droughts and more will destroy human life and civilizations.

5. “Climate change is a hoax.”

I’ve heard accusations of this toward the Chinese, or that climate change is a conspiracy among scientists, and I honestly have no words to argue because it’s so ridiculous. If you don’t believe the (extremely qualified and hard-working) scientists who have proved the existence of global warming time and time again, look around you. Look at the severe rain and snow storms in the United States, El Nino, extreme hurricanes, dying coral reefs and marine ecosystems and flooding of islands, and tell me that’s normal. Stop ignoring facts!

To summarize, this issue isn’t far away or a delayed problem. We don’t have time to sit around and argue about it while our Earth is being destroyed (@The Republican Party). I’d strongly encourage everyone to watch National Geographic’s Before the Flood, which explains climate change causes and effects, as well as what we can do to remedy it, in a way that is very clear and impactful. It really shows the urgency of the situation and is very informative. Plus, Leonardo DiCaprio is in it, and he travels to places most affected by climate change to tangibly show what this phenomenon is doing.

Especially with our new President-Elect, we need to be loud about this issue. The new leader of the Environmental Protection Agency, Myron Ebell, is a known and proud climate change denier, who pretends to be a scientist. He will likely slash funding and dismantle projects of the EPA, and the American people need to be vocal about opposing this because it is an issue that applies to literally everyone in existence and the future of the entire world.