Global warming – is it all “hot air”?

     I’m a Christian, but I’m in the same boat as everyone else when it comes to the fear, facts and future of climate change.

     Take the fear, for instance: I may be a Christian but it scares me too when I hear that extreme weather events will increase due to “global warming.” And when it comes to facts, I’m just as confused as millions of others as to who’s right and who’s a fraud among the climate change scientists. And I switch again and again from being an alarmist to a denier of climate change whenever I read or view a convincing argument about the future. Are we on the edge of extinction, or has doom and gloom been deliberately overblown for political and financial gain? 

     But what am I supposed to think when I read a quote like this one: that “The common drivers (of the climate change scare) are bad ‘science’, the press seeking disaster stories, NGOs seeking influence to pursue social engineering agendas, politicians seeking votes, government funded agencies seeking funding, the egos of the proponents and a gullible, uneducated population. The sad reality is that there is little, if any, learning from the past and none of the proponents are ever brought to account.” 

      But is that true? Is it true that global warming is “the greatest scam in history,” or are our children and grandchildren truly facing a frightening future? Can we carry on with our lives without having to worry that much – as a multitude of “experts” say – or should we be frantic in reducing carbon emissions? Well, after watching YouTube videos and reading articles until my eyes crossed and the circulation of blood in my bum quit, I admit I still don’t know what to think.  

     So I turned to my Christian chums for help, to see what they thought. I liked the comment by one prominent TV evangelist, that we don’t have to worry about melting glaciers, because God promised he’d never drown the world in a flood again, the rainbow being his proof of it. In other words, God won’t let us self-destruct, no matter how much the globe warms. 

     But I’ve also been watching a ton of stuff from Katherine Hayhoe, a prominent Canadian atmospheric scientist and wife of a Christian pastor, who says there’ll be lots of destruction as the globe warms. And it’s going to hit the most vulnerable people too, so in love to God and neighbour, turn our fears into action. 

    I like that, because if I love God for creating me and this planet, and I show my love by thinking about and caring for others, isn’t that the obvious approach to global warming? It becomes a pleasure doing business with God too, because if anyone’s got great ideas on what we can actually do about global warming, he does. He just needs people who are interested.

     And that thought came in rather useful when faced with one of my grandchildren recently, who said to me, “What’s the point of doing anything when we’re being told the damage done to the planet is irreversible, and no matter what we do all hell will be let loose in twelve years or so?” 

     But what I see in her is a multitude of talents and amazing thoughts that God implanted in her for just what the planet needs to flourish and survive. So, use your schooling, kiddo, get the best grades you can and develop every talent you’ve got. I went on and on about it to her too, because it’s dawned on me that God will do amazing things through our young people, if they’re interested. I wish I was young again, and someone had told me that when I was in my teens, that God is all for signing us up as partners to become movers and shakers, pioneers and discoverers, and good, solid citizens who care.

     I desperately hope that’s the picture she gets in her head, then, that to God it’s a pleasure doing business with her to make this planet flourish.