Chapter 2 - The Climate System
Consider the words of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:9.
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is
that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
There is nothing new under the Sun. And I want to show here that Global
Warming is nothing new under the Sun. In the last few years, Global Warming
has become probably the most talked about, most reported, most politicised and
most marketed topic in today’s world. A global phenomenon, a climate that is out
of control, a problem that must be solved. The cause? You and me. The solution?
Apparently that’s you too, at least according to the Kyoto Protocol.
The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. Countries that sign up to the protocol agree
to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. So far
over 170 countries have signed up to this agreement, the objective of which is
“...to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at
a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system.”
Dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate. The word anthropogenic
describes an effect, process, object or material derived from human activities. In
effect, the objective of the protocol reads…to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse
gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
human interference with the climate.
Man is an interference. Man must change the natural climate system in order to
stop himself from being an interference. Consider that for a moment. As those
who have put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and who have even the
most simple grasp of Scripture, we believe in the God who spoke creation into
existence. A simple study of the generations from Adam until Christ shows that
the 6 days of creation occurred a mere 6,000 years ago. The climate system was
part of that creation. It didn’t evolve, nor did it just happen. It was created. It was
created by God.
We are reminded of that very fact in Ecclesiastes 1:5-7.
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place
where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto
the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again
according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not
full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
That is the climate system. In 350 BC, Greek philosopher, Aristotle, released a
text entitled Meteorology in which he explains much of the climate system, a
text regarded as some of the earliest work on the subject. Solomon released his
text, the book of Ecclesiastes, around 700 years earlier. Without doubt it was the
earliest, and remains the most accurate. Solomon was the first, but how did he
know? He knew because the one who spoke the very climate system into existence,
revealed His creation to Solomon.
If we believed in a climate system that evolved over millions of years, and if we
believed in a species that evolved over millions of years, then yes, why not? One
could quite conceivably interfere with the other. It’s a game of chance. But we
don’t believe in chance. The Bible plainly teaches that the eternal God of heaven
created, within a universe, a world, its systems and its inhabitants. He created
them perfect, and despite the fall of man, Colossians 1:17 says:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
By Him all things are held together. Man is not an interference. The climate, despite
the views of Al Gore, is not an inconvenience, because both man and climate are
the product of a holy God, the God of the Bible. So why the concern? Why is
everybody, including the vast majority of Christians, of the opinion that there is a
real issue when it comes to Global Warming? Is the globe really warming?
Consider a man walking into a shop. The shopkeeper says to him “It’s good
to see you, John. How is your wife?” John replies “Compared to what?”
So is the globe really warming? The true answer must be… compared to what?