The Louisiana State University 2014 spring semester has ended as quickly as it began -- for now, at least. The university officially cancelled classes January 24, 28 and 29 due to continued precipitation, below freezing temps and potentially hazardous travel conditions. Louisianans hardly see snow in the subtropical climate, let alone three snow days within one week. Overjoyed LSU students took to Twitter with the hashtag #SneauxDay to document how they spend their time when school is out (imagine a lot of pitiful snowmen and bar-hopping). Note: we spell "snow" with an -eaux as a reference to our Cajun French heritage in South Louisiana.
"Snow" may seem to be a bit of an overstatement, as may be the university's response if Northerners saw what we're struggling with down South. It's been lightly sleeting and wickedly cold, and there's maybe an inch or two of crunchy snow on the ground. The reaction is so drastic that #Sneauxpocalypse and #Sneauxmaggedon frequent my Twitter feed, and the campus television easily found satire material.
The end-of-times attitude may not be inappropriate considering the context. Vehicle travel is the major concern of the university cancellation and rightfully so: Friday saw two deaths and over 200 accidents on the interstate. Louisianans and their infrastructure are not prepared for severe ice and snow, and without salt on our roads, driving became dangerous in a city notorious for its traffic.
There is another reason that this sneauxpocalypse is something to fear, but it's one I've heard few students mention. Winter Storm Leon signifies a radical change in Louisiana's wintry climate, one in which our booming oil industry plays a significant role. These companies are producing the fossil fuels that are the main proponent of climate change. In the past several years, the United States has seen the effects of abnormal weather patterns. As the Northeast was not prepared for Hurricane Sandy, hurricane-struck Louisiana doesn't know how to tackle an ice storm.
Political conservatives on my Facebook feed undermine global warming with photos addressed to Al Gore of icicles on their trucks, but little do they realize that extreme winters are exactly what climatologists predicted as an aspect of climate change. This article from 2008 predicts "...the strongest cold season storms are likely to become more frequent, with stronger winds and more extreme wave heights." The polar ice caps are melting due to a trapping of reflected sunlight in our carbon-polluted atmosphere, which causes these winds to be pushed -- you guessed it -- down south.
The only things I've heard students complain about so far are iced-over windshields and a potentially shortened Mardi Gras break. In Baton Rouge, the epitome of unplanned urban sprawl, acknowledging the environmental implications of my car makes me ashamed to drive it around as often as I do. Furthermore, Baton Rouge has garnered the nickname Cancer Alley: clouds produced by area chemical factories soften our skyline.
However, I am aware of what Winter Storm Leon represents. I fear this abnormal weather will give way to a new norm: one of colder, harsher winters that Louisianans have never seen. Our climate is cyclical, and weather patterns do shift over time, but I've watched Louisiana winters reach new lows in my two decades here. This weather could be an icy taste of our future, but it seems most students are concerned with a dock to our school breaks. Imagine future school cancellations from deadly hurricanes in the summer and snowstorms in the winter. Imagine public service announcements for how to prepare for a snowstorm much like the ones we see for hurricane season. Imagine staying inside to hide from winter winds, much like Southerners do during humid summers.
I don't know exactly what the future holds, but I know our lifestyle in South Louisiana won't continue for much longer as is. Louisianans know how to survive the worst, and we need to apply this mindset to addressing our environmental degradation. We are destroying our coast to satisfy oil interests, mining our chemicals at the expense of our mighty Mississippi, and driving SUVs and pickups in urban areas without farm work or transport justification. Louisiana is still largely agrarian, and we depend on our precarious environment. If the oil industry continues to get the best of us, our shortsighted greed will leave nothing but stories of mild winters for our grandchildren.
As college students, we have access to the information, resources and research opportunities to create a better social and environmental climate. We could follow in the footsteps of Maine College, the first college to alleviate its environmental impact.
Swarthmore College is one of many to participate in Divest-Invest, a university-led action to support alternative energy industries and boycott fossil fuel industries.
LSU even has a renowned School of the Coast and Environment, which has conducted vast amounts of research on our local environment.
We students are excited to get out of school, but a semester of work still lies ahead of us. Much like our schoolwork, our environmental issues aren't going anywhere, and kicking the climate change can down the road will lead to a pileup much like that on our interstates. Louisiana, there's much more than ice ahead, and colleges such as LSU should be leading the charge to keep our state from getting snowed in.