The Polar Vortex

As the warnings of extreme cold and crazy wind chill factors began hitting the air waves, people ran to the grocery store to stock up on staples.  The moment the Polar Vortex began retreating, speculation began about how much the cold snap had cost in lost production, civil workers and clean up, and of course, the heating bills.   This post is more about the positive side of wind chills in the negative numbers and actual record breaking temperatures.  The points I make here are specific to our planet and our food supply.  It is often hard to see a silver lining when the news is all doom and gloom, but here is an attempt to paint the positive picture.

The early cold began freezing water in the Great Lakes as December began.  With water levels at a 14 year low in the beginning of 2013 and only a slight rebound after the spring thaw, having the water freeze early bodes well for water retention.  It stops evaporation and reduces erosion of shorelines.  Both of these affects are great news for the shipping industry and scientists alike.  The hope is that the frozen water takes longer to thaw due to its thickness.  This slower thaw will do much to keep the water in the lakes and not in the atmosphere.

With the rise in global temperatures over the past years, growing zones designating which plants will survive in different areas, have become blurry.  When invasive plants make their way to new areas, their survival depends on adaptation to that growing zone.  As the zone lines begin to change, colder weather doesn't affectively kill off the invaders.  This cold snap will go a long way to kill off some of the emerald ash borer, or hold back the strangling kudzu.  We need these severe temperature changes in order to restore some balance.

Livestock is bolstered, if allowed, in colder weather.  Organic producers have the responsibility to keep their animals healthy.  Sick animals must be treated with conventional antibiotics, but those animals can't be sold as organic.  They use good old fashion exposure to the elements, quality feed and dry bedding to keep their animals strong and healthy.  Animals are not kept in close quarters, they are given the opportunity to go outside if they chose and they are treated like we should treat our own bodies to stay healthy.  Exposure to the elements doesn't cause illness, exposure to illness when immunities are weak causes illness.  If an animal is treated with care and not chemicals, then faced with all different kinds of temperatures, its health is tested and survival proves a stronger animal.  These weather changes allow organic producers to cull their herds and populate with the best and strongest.

Now, for the really good news.  Spinach will be sweeter in the coming weeks.  It seems that fruits and vegetables have their own defense mechanisms against extreme temperatures.  We know grass will go dormant in the heat of summer.  Fruits and veggies go dormant and increase their sugar production to fortify themselves against the cold.  The winter crops that were not harvested before the cold kicked up may have survived the weather with great benefit.  The higher sugar content will occur when vegetables freeze, go dormant, are allowed to thaw naturally then harvested.  Shop for these flavorful vegetables in supermarkets and your local farmer's market this winter.  Won't it be great to actually enjoy a benefit of unseasonable cold?