How many people have you heard talk about the weather, just in the last day? Probably more than one! Weather is one of our favorite subjects. “Good morning, Frank,” we say. “It’s cold out there!” Different weather brings different words. In other weather, we might say, “Run for your life, Frank! There’s a tornado coming!” Weather can comfort us, excite us, or even put our lives in danger. No wonder everybody’s talking about it!
Let’s add another kind of weather-talk to our list: chatter about climate change. You might say, “Hey Frank, I saw on TV that the Earth is rapidly warming.” And indeed, science shows that places on Earth that used to be cool have warmed up a little. But not everyone agrees about what that means. Will the Earth grow so hot that all human life will be wiped out? Or will “climate change” do nothing at all?
Climate-change chatterers should keep some things in mind. First, 2014 was not the hottest year, but the hottest year on record. Our record of Earth’s temperature is surprisingly short—not thousands of years, but only 135 years. Earth could have gone through similar climate changes in centuries past, no harm done. And the temperature increase is tiny. Not 10 degrees, five degrees, or even one degree. Since 2010, the Earth’s recorded temperature has risen only 0.02 degrees Celsius. And that doesn’t take into account the 0.1 degree margin of error. In other words, the change is so small it’s just as likely to be a mistake as a real measurement!
But climate-change deniers have some thinking to do too. It’s true that our atmosphere has 25% more carbon dioxide than it had in 1960. That extra carbon dioxide could be heating up the oceans. If it is, and if ocean temperatures do continue to rise, how would that affect the weather? We simply don’t know.
Weather is a player in God’s grand drama. The show runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and can be observed everywhere on the planet. The weather’s consistency shows God’s care in action. After the worldwide flood, God promised Noah: “While the Earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Do you believe God’s promise to take care of the Earth—and you? If you do, you won’t be sweating with worry that we’re about to become extinct!
Don’t ditch the conversation about climate. It’s a chance to demonstrate your faith, as well as learn how to best take care of one of God’s great gifts to us—Earth!
