Some thoughts on Climate Disruption
(Originally published March 12, 2016) The subject of Global Warming became popular news back in the late 1980’s when it was presented to Congress by NASA Climate Scientist James Hansen. Well the general populace didn’t like the term Global Warming after a few record breaking winters and mild summers, so it was replaced with the term Climate Change. The subject didn’t change just the name. According to climate scientists at Argonne National Laboratory it is time to usher in the age of Climate Disruption.
Not because the facts have changed, but because we need a “positive mental attitude” regarding the subject.
“‘Positive mental attitude is a really wonderful way to deal with change,’ research meteorologist Doug Sisterson told about 200 people at the University of Chicago’s International House Tuesday night. ‘We’ve learned that we want to be optimists and have a positive mental attitude, and the way we deal with that is by thinking ‘Not all change is bad.’ Well, talking about climate change, it’s not good. So maybe it’s wrong to portray climate change with a positive mental attitude.’” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2015/03/12/forget-global-warming-and-climate-change-call-it-climate-disruption/)
Here I agree with Sisterson. And so do the people living along the coast of the Bering Sea who noticed that the water didn’t freeze this past winter. They said it is the weirdest weather they have seen in 50 years. A positive attitude isn’t going to change those facts. Their way of life has been disrupted because the Sea didn’t freeze. Hence the new term Climate Disruption.
I swear we are living just like the people in the time of Noah. The story goes something like this: God told Noah to build a boat, and the act of building that boat served as a testimony for the people of his day for about 120 years that what they were doing was wrong, and the people didn't listen. I can imagine, however, they did go out to see the “weirdo in the desert” building a boat in a land that had never seen rain.
We have no idea what Noah did before becoming a craftsman, so just humor me for a minute. What if Noah worked for NASA, and instead of building an Ark he was making movies with Al Gore, and publishing articles and even changed the name of his Boat to Research Vessel.
Our modern day Noahs could spend the next 120 years telling us, “Climate is Changing for the Negative.” And some folk would respond, “It has never changed before.” Are we truly waiting for the ice caps to completely vanish before we reduce our carbon footprint? I am just saying God may have given us some modern day prophets who don’t look like we would expect, and many well-intentioned church folks are ignoring them…because they believe in The Word.
I believe in the Word of God also, and I know that in days of old a prophet was judged by whether what they said came to pass. Not if they used optimistic language. Well, the weather at the Bering Sea has been crazy for the past 50 years. “[Climate Disruption] more accurately represents the journey we are about to be embarking upon,” Sisterson said.
So I say, “Reduce, reuse, recycle, … repent”. Repent of your carbon footprint. Repent of your lack of environmental stewardship. Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Please don’t wait until the scientist, or the preachers, agree on some user friendly terms. I don’t know if the people along the Bering Sea have another 50 years before Noah and his animals enter their … Research Vessel.