An old saying tells us “Politics makes strange bedfellows.” The same can evidently be said about global warming and saving the earth. Representatives from environmental science and evangelical churches recently met in Atlanta to discuss the need for urgent action in addressing the problem of global warming. Rich Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals said, “Whether God created the Earth in a millisecond or whether it evolved over billions of years, the issue we agree on is that it needs to be cared for today.” While no one offered to change their minds about the origin of the Earth, both agree that the threat to life on Earth because of global warming is real enough where they could set aside their disagreements and work together on the problem.
Last February, 86 evangelical leaders issued a call to action on the problem of global warming. While admitting that it too some convincing, they now accepted that that human-induced climate change is real. Christians need to be concerned because the impact of global warming would hit the poor the hardest, “Millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors.” However, several prominent evangelicals urged the National Association of Evangelicals to avoid taking a similar position because many are still not convinced that global warming is real. (It would be hard to convince me of that after the last our recent string of 70 degree January days!).
There was a time when it seemed like many Christians (well, many Christians that I talked to, admittedly a small-subset) bought the Rush Limbaugh line that the environmentalist whackos and liberal scientific establishment had made up the whole hole-in-the-ozone think as a leftist plot to do away with aerosol spray cans and cheap automotive refrigerant. I think many of us have come to see the environment as a humanitarian issue and a stewardship issue rather than a plank in someone’s political agenda. As much as it seems to pain some to admit, Al Gore is not Chicken Little and the sky may really be falling.
By the way, I’ve already told Lynn that our next car is going to be a 2008 American-made hybrid—I say Ford Escape, she says we are buying another Ford. Of course, we won’t be able to buy it until 2018, so we have plenty of time for negotiation!
6 comments:
If plotted properly the recent weather could be used to prove that all cars will be melting in our or our offsprings lifetime. (Of course we would have to explain why it didn’t happen) We should be good steward and some trees put out more gas that destroys the ozone, perhaps those trees should be taxed more heavily. (Just a thought and I am not taking it back) The “reverend” Al Core made many claims and clung to the safety of popular opinion. Those who are paying for his movie are wanting to be educated about the problem that does seem to be an immediate inconvenient cause and effect.
Global warming is a fact, no argument there. But I'm astounded that some many people take it for granted that humans and our waste products are causing it. The more I read about it, the more information I find that indicates the cause is most likely natural. What we are experiencing could simply be a global climate shift. Although those tend to be inconvenient, the effects aren't always completely negative. I think all of the hype global warming has generated has been because of humanity's own sense of self-importance and ingrained fear of change.
who wrote it?
thi poo lease, thankyou
I think Anna Caroline nailed it. There seems to be some kind of warming trend going on, but the jury is still out as to whether it's man made or some cyclical trend in the atmosphere (i.e. a natural process).
Your point is good in that as Christians we should be good stewards of the resources the Lord has given us. I don't think it's a good idea to simply dismiss outright the notion of global warming and it's potential impact globally, but I do still think much of the global warming rhetoric IS politically/financially motivated. No matter what his intentions, I have a hard time buying the idea Al Gore 's "An Inconvenient Truth" movie isn't on some level politically motivated the same way I would be suspicious of Exxon Mobil making a movie that claims global warming is a complete myth.
Guess my point is just for people to be aware of the source of their information on global warming and to question what that source stands to gain before blindly accepting that source's information as fact. If we want to come up with solutions to the potential effects (small or large) of this warming trend, we have to be able to weed out junk science from fact.
In 1986 it did appear that the ozone whole was opening at an alarming rate. It was noted and announced that the satellite that was used to “watch” the ozone whole was running on low batteries and out of calibration. (The group was small and it never made the front page.) The lecture my wife and I attended, was our first, we attended (together, as husband and wife) of the well known author (well known to me) who spoke at the Langley visitors center (when they had a visitors center) (it moved down town).this was the early 90s and the ball was already rolling like a snowball down hill. Global warming was a buzz and eclectic cars were to be in everyone’s driveway soon “what happened were are the eclectic cars and why can’t we all afford one?” 90 has gone 2000 is on the way out and still we suck up gas like there is no tomorrow. Wake up America! Get a hybrid, lease it if you have to and for short trips full electric may be the way to go for those who stay close to home.
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