Global Warming: “It’s Real”

Courtesy of Google Images

Courtesy of Google Images

The other day I was mulling over a Bible verse. The quote was: “They have set an ambush for ourselves” (Proverbs 1:18). I sat there wondering what that ominous quote meant. Then it hit me–we have quadrupled the world population in less than one hundred years,  developed powerful technology to use the earth’s resources in our quest for continuing economic growth (85% of our energy comes from fossil fuels), and have emitted 90 million tons of pollution into the air on a daily basis. The consequences of these drastic actions are clear and the evidence is indisputable. We are setting an ambush for ourselves.

The observations, the theory, and the models lead to the conclusion that the earth is warming and that a major cause of that warming is the concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide in the stratosphere is absorbing the sun’s heat, causing an increase in heat all over the world. Our planet has a fever and its temperature is rising relentlessly. Just last year more than 22,000 daily high record temperatures were broken in the United States alone. We experienced the largest drought declaration in fifty years with more than two-thirds of the continental United States in drought at the end of July 2012. Scientists predict that in the future, the coldest years will be warmer than the hottest years in the past.

All around the world people are experiencing the impact of climate change in their daily lives. In Latin America water availability for human consumption, agriculture, and energy is decreasing exponentially each year. In Europe people are being displaced by an increase in inland and coastal flooding. In Africa access to food and water is extremely limited and now, more and more people are dying of famine and thirst. In Asia, people must walk miles for fresh water and the death rate from diseases has increased. These are but a few of the  consequences that are occurring around the globe. The issues that we are facing today are nothing compared to the potential natural threats in the future. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the frequency and power of tropical storms, hurricanes, and blizzards are expected to increase each year.

Courtesy of Google Images
Courtesy of Google Imag

There are those who deny the validity of global warming. They say “it’s not bad”, they say “it’s cooling”, they say “there is no consensus”–and the most intelligent of these arguments: “We’re heading into an ice age.” Who are these climate deniers? People such as Donald Trump, rock musician Ted Nugent, science fiction writer Michael Crichton, and many more celebrities. These are not the people we should be listening to. In the words of M.F. Moonzajer, “Denial of climate change and degradation of environment for the purpose of economic prosperity is humiliation and slavery of the nature.” The consensus on global warming is real; NASA, The Royal Academy of Science, the United Nations, and various reliable agencies all over the world have vehemently emphasized that climate change is real. No longer can we stand by and say that this is an issue that can wait. Our planet is dying and unless something is done, we will die with it.

When my generation comes knocking at the door of our predecessors, we will ask one of two questions. What were you thinking? Why didn’t you act? Or we will ask instead: how did you find the resolve and moral courage to come together and successfully resolve an issue that so many said was impossible to solve? I pray that for the sake of all children that, one day, we will be able to stand in awe of the heroes that threw aside their differences to fight an issue that would have affected the entire planet.