Climate Change: Why should we care?
19 January 2009By: Jonathan E. Twining
Most scientists agree that global climate change is occurring, and leaders from around the world are starting to listen to the evidence. Recently, more than 100 evangelical leaders led by the National Association of Evangelicals agreed that global climate change is a cause for concern and signed a statement entitled, “Climate Change: An Evangelical Call to Action.” You can view this statement at christiansandclimate.org.
So, what is all the fuss about? Certain greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere trap heat from the sun, warming the earth and allowing life to thrive on the planet. However, the levels of these gases, primarily carbon dioxide, have been increasing in the atmosphere, resulting in a gradual warming of the earth’s climate. Much scientific evidence suggests that the main cause of increasing carbon dioxide levels is the burning of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas.
If we continue as usual, there is a likelihood of global temperatures increasing by two to five degrees Fahrenheit in the next century. This may not sound like much, but it will have catastrophic effects on the earth. Based on evidence from the earth’s history, it is likely that sea levels will rise by as much as 80 feet as ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica melt. There is already much scientific evidence that this is occurring. Increasing temperatures will also have a significant impact on plants and animals that adapt to particular temperature ranges and will not be able to adapt or migrate fast enough to keep up with climate shifts. The result will be mass extinction.
Global climate change is a real possibility; we should be concerned about it because it has the potential to affect the lives of millions of people, making the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia look pale by comparison. Those who live in coastal areas, island nations or low-lying countries like Bangladesh will be displaced as sea levels rise in response to the glacial ice melting at the poles. Warming temperatures will cause an increase in the outbreaks of deadly emerging diseases, because bacteria and viruses thrive in warm temperatures.
Climate change will also affect weather patterns resulting in an increase in the number and severity of storms like Hurricane Katrina that devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States. Warming temperatures will also cause a northward shift in agricultural zones, disrupting the economies of countries that are dependent upon agriculture.
“The clever see danger and hide, but the simple go on, and suffer for it” (Proverbs 22:3). To be prudent, we should take steps now to stem the output of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere so that we can slow climate change. Many people argue that the problem is so big that they cannot make a difference. But if all Christians around the world, including Nazarenes, begin to change their lifestyles, the impact would be huge, and we would demonstrate to the world that Christians do care about creation.
For more information about global climate change, see “The Threat to the Planet,” an article by Dr. Jim Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
The article can be retrieved on-line from:
http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2006/DukeEdin_complete_20061121.pdf
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