The death toll in Europe continues to mount as the “Great Freeze of 2012″ continues to keep much of the continent shut down under a mountain of ice and snow.  The tragedy points to a glaring fact often overlooked in the continuing “global warming” or “climate change” debate.  Many more people die from excessive cold than from excessive heat.  In Europe about 200,000 die from excess heat each year.  But 1.5 million die from excess cold.  The ratio of 7 deaths from cold to 1 death from heat appears to hold for most of the earth. Clearly a warmer planet will mean fewer deaths from extreme temperatures.