We hear a lot about global warming these days. Is it anything about which we should be concerned? Well, as stewards of the earth (God did give it to us, Genesis 1:26-28) we have an obligation to show our gratitude for the planet by using it wisely and respectfully.

In the first place, however, we should note that God promised us through Noah:

While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 8:22

God’s assurance seems to be that nothing we do will change the order he has set for nature’s cycles. In light of the alarming news we are hearing concerning the warming of the globe, this is very reassuring to say the least.

Jay Richards of the Acton Institute proposes four questions regarding global warming that I believe we would be wise to consider.

Question #1. Are we really warming?

Consider first that we’ve only been keeping a record of climatic conditions on any kind of a global scale for little more than a century. Indications are that we have warmed on the average about six tenths of a degree
Celsius within this time.

Question #2. Are we causing the warming?

There is no consensus on this question within the scientific community. Records of human migrations in the past indicate that the earth has gone through numerous climactic swings from periods of warming to periods of cooling. About 800 years ago, the Vikings had a thriving settlement in Greenland but eventually had to leave because it grew so cold. Perhaps the warming trend we seem to be experiencing now is a result of natural causes.

Question #3. If we really are warming, is this bad?

What is the optimum temperature for the planet? No one knows. If we don’t know what the best temperature is, why should we attempt to prevent warming? Would there not be an ‘up’ side to longer growing seasons and the increased production of oxygen from the world’s plants and trees that are fed by our carbon dioxide? Much evidence exists to show that our present climate is much cooler that it has been in the past.

Question #4. If we are warming, is there anything we can do that will really make a difference?

Are we arrogant to suppose that our puny activities have changed the climate of the earth beyond the degree that God has designed into nature? Are we willing to tell the greater part of humanity that lives in poverty that they must cease their drive to industrialize? How many of us are willing to change our own lifestyles to allow for say a 50% reduction in energy use?

I conclude with Jay, that until we can answer these questions satisfactorily, there is no basis for irrational action. In light of Genesis 8:22, I wonder if it is all much ado about nothing.

Marty Kessler