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A few Sundays ago when our air conditioning was on the blink, I asked you if you thought global warming was real. We chuckled. Many on both sides of that question don’t chuckle when they discuss the issue. There seems to be much debate as to whether or not our planet is getting warmer. That debate often seems to give us more heat than light.
We have been wrong before. We know now that the earth is not flat. We know now that women can play full court basketball. We know now that African-Americans are just as capable of learning as Americans of European descent. The people who told us that the earth was flat, that women lacked stamina and that African-Americans lacked intelligence were some of the leading thinkers of their time. Anybody can be wrong. Maybe the people who are saying that our climate is warming are wrong.
What if they are wrong? What if the earth is not getting warmer? Suppose we go to all the trouble of doing all the things that we are supposed to do to help save the planet and it turns out that the planet is not warming? Suppose you went to all the trouble of doing the following things to help curb global warming:
1. Drive Less - 15 miles less driving per week (bike, carpool, walk) eliminates 900 lbs. of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.
2. Tune Up - clean oil and properly inflated tires eliminate 1000 lbs. of CO2 per year.
3. Drive Smart - a hybrid or electric vehicle eliminates 5600 lbs. of CO2 per year.
4. Light Up - replace three incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs in your home and eliminate 300 lbs. of CO2 (lasts longer, burns less).
5. Recycle - recycling half of the aluminum, glass, plastic, and paper you use reduces 2400 lbs. of CO2.
6. Purchase Green Power - if available in your area, purchase 100% green power from a company and prevent 3800 to 6200 lbs. of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
7. Build Green & Use Solar Power - if remodeling or building a new home, use green materials and solar energy (use federal tax credits and state buy down programs if available) to reduce 1000 to 6000 lbs. of CO2.
8. Turn It Down, Turn It Up - turn your heater down and your air conditioner up by three degrees and save 1050 lbs. of CO2 per year.
9. Wash Cool - do two loads of your laundry per week in cold or warm water instead of hot (and hang stuff out to dry when you can), save 500 lbs. of CO2 a year.
10. Store Smartly, Save Money - buy energy star refrigerators and other appliances and save money as well as 1000 lbs. of CO2 a year.
Suppose you did all or some of those things and it turned out the people who study the climate were wrong and you really did not need to do those things in order to stop global warming. What then?
Would your efforts have been a waste of time? No, they would not have been, if you are a person of faith who takes seriously the teachings of scripture. In Genesis 1:28, God gives humans dominion over the other creatures. In Genesis 2:15, God put them in the garden with directions to till it and keep it. In other words, God intends for humans to use the resources that God has given them, but God also intends for them to keep the garden, as in upkeep, care for, and stewardship of it. When God made covenant with Noah after the flood, God did not just make a covenant with Noah, but all living creatures. Creation matters to God. Living creatures matter to God. God’s concern for the earth is emphatically underscored in the book of Revelation 11:8 “The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for judging the dead, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints and all who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” If there was any doubt about how God feels about those who destroy the earth, then that should clear it up. The Bible is full of scripture that indicates that God’s intention for humanity is to live in harmony with creation. The Hebrew word “Shalom,” that we most translate as “peace,” does not simply refer to peace between human beings, but peace in all of God’s creation.
Is global warming real? I am not qualified to say. However, even if those who say that it is real turn out to be wrong, I believe that doing some of those things that they suggest would still be pleasing to God. More to the point, the elders’ song in Revelation suggests that those who fear God’s name are those who do not destroy the earth. Whether or not we need to fear global warming may still be open for debate. Whether or not we need to fear God is a question that most of us have answered affirmatively.
Joy and peace,
Ed
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