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 Prince Charles recently added his voice to those who see how bleak the future will be unless drastic measures are taken to stop climate change. At an alternative energy conference in Abu Dhabi those attending may have been surprised to hear the Prince remind his hearers of mankind's responsibility to our Creator.
"Scientists are now saying that the problem of climate change is now so grave and so urgent that we have less than 10 years to slow, stop and reverse greenhouse gas emissions. Common actions are needed in every country to protect the common inheritance that has been given to us by our creator," said the Prince.
It seems to many scientists and world leaders that that life on earth is under threat. According to recent reports from the UK government and the United Nations, global warming has been happening for over 200 years and climate change is now a permanent fixture. By the end of this century, if current trends continue, the effects will be so severe that human civilization could disappear.
Under the headline “Worse than we thought”, David Adam, in The Guardian (January 3, 2007) explained why the latest UN predictions, regarding climate change and a world-wide disaster that will follow, are worse than they have ever been before. By including the most recent research in the latest computer models of the climate, more accurate predictions of the bleak future that lies ahead have become all too clear. Even more alarming is the fact that mankind is the main cause of the problem, but governments currently lack any agreement on a viable solution.
It’s our fault
During 2006 there was the publication of the Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change, and 2007 saw the release of three extremely significant UN reports on the subject of global warming. Written by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC), the reports establish not only the fact that climate change is taking place, but also that human activity is having the biggest influence on that change.
 According to the IPCC, they are 95% sure that the main cause of global warming is human activity. To make matters worse, even if we made dramatic changes to human activity immediately, there seems to be nothing we can do to stop an upward trend in global temperatures, sea levels and extreme weather in coming decades, as a result of damage that has already been done to our environment. Without drastic action now, this trend could have disastrous consequences for life on this planet by the end of the century.
Using information from the first report, The Guardian summarized what a +4C rise in global temperature could mean:
- Loss of food production
Droughts. African crops slump 15% to 35%. Global production falls 10%
- Increased flooding
Sea levels rise by up to 59cm. Bangladesh and Vietnam worst hit, along with coastal cities such as London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Calcutta and Karachi. 1.8m people at risk from coastal flooding in Britain alone.
- Melting ice
Half the Arctic tundra at risk. Europe loses 80% of alpine glaciers. West Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet start to melt.
- Loss of land species
20-50% of land species threatened with extinction.
- Water shortages
Fresh water availability halved in southern Africa and Mediterranean.
- Hurricanes more powerful
Wind strengths increasing 15-25%. Great damage to infrastructure.
 Even before the first IPCC report was published, the European commission was warning that if global warming continued it would trigger regional conflicts, poverty, famine and migration, as a result of climate change. In the wake of the 2006 Stern report in the UK, the commission also forecast a spread of infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, as a result of water shortages and poor quality. The death-toll in all parts of the world as a result of climate change will rise sharply.
New research
Based on research already published, the UN reports will add to growing calls for action to tackle this world-wide problem. But since 2001, when the last IPCC report was published, new research has revealed that oceans, soil and trees will become worse at absorbing carbon dioxide (a major 'greenhouse gas') as temperatures rise, increasing the rate at which global temperatures will rise. According to The Guardian newspaper ( February 3, 2007):
“Dramatic flips in the way ecosystems absorb carbon dioxide will see oceans and vast swaths of land falter in their ability to draw up the greenhouse gas, allowing it to build up in the atmosphere and cause more warming. The phenomenon is known as a positive feedback – where global warming drives change in ecosystems that themselves cause more heating.”
Greenhouse gases:
These gases, such as carbon dioxide, that occur naturally in the environment, allow radiation from the sun to warm the planet but block it as it is radiated back off the surface, forming a virtual blanket around the globe. Low levels of these gases are ‘recycled’ naturally in the environment (eg carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants) and cause no harm. But once these levels rise too high, natural recycling systems cannot cope, and the annual destruction of vast areas of forest in many parts of the world is making matters worse. Some greenhouse gases have been trapped inside frozen soil for centuries, but rising world temperatures are now releasing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as these soils thaw. |
Feedback:
One of the earliest feedback mechanisms identified was the melting of ice sheets and sea ice. The vast sheets of bright white ice reflect nearly 80% of sunlight that falls on them. But as they melt they reveal dark waters or soils beneath that absorb sunlight, warm up and cause yet more melting.
Similarly, as the world warms up the oceans become less able to dissolve carbon dioxide. Warmer oceans are also having an adverse effect on carbon-absorbing marine phytoplankton, the organisms that lie at the very bottom of the aquatic food chain. As warming continues scientists fear that phytoplankton will begin to die off, creating a positive feedback cycle where warmer oceans release more carbon which in turn leads to more warming. |
In short, the IPCC make it quite clear that many people alive today are faced with a very bleak future, unless something happens to stop climate change. According to Catherine Pearce, international climate campaigner with Friends of the Earth, the next 12 months are a critical phase:
“We can no longer afford to ignore growing and compelling warnings from the world’s leading experts. Further delays in agreements at the international level are unacceptable in light of these findings. As well as national action, governments around the world should be working together to secure agreement…on stronger emission reduction commitments.”
(Reported in The Guardian January 27, 2007)
And there is the problem!! To get governments around the world “working together to secure agreement” on any matters related to climate change needs a willingness by all concerned to put securing the world’s future before their own short-term national interests. Otherwise the outcome seems all too clear: world-wide disaster!!
A better outcome?
Given the gravity of the situation, it is comforting to read in the Bible that a growing anxiety about apparently unsolvable world problems is something we should now expect. Writing just before a local disaster hit the nation of Israel, when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army almost 2000 years ago, the gospel writer Luke was also inspired by God to write about events that would happen much later, after Jerusalem was again under Jewish control, as it is now:
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:” (Luke 21v25-26)
Given the effects of climate change predicted by the IPCC, Luke’s words seem a remarkably accurate description of events unfolding today. But there would be little comfort in his words if that was all that Luke predicted! Fortunately he went on:
“And then shall they see the Son of man (Jesus Christ) coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21v27-28)
In other words, Luke may (or may not) be saying that ‘climate change’ is to be expected, but he is certainly telling us that when the world is facing seemingly insurmountable problems, we should expect the return of Jesus Christ to sort them out. Just when the world seems to be heading uncontrollably towards disaster, Jesus will return as the angels promised he would 2000 years ago.
"This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1v11)
Other Bible prophecies explain that by taking over the government of all the world, Jesus will steer mankind away from self-destruction and restore the earth to the perfect state that it had ‘in the beginning’.
The removal of doubt
The IPCC reports remove any doubt about climate change: it’s happening and, unless we change our habits, we are heading for disaster in the very near future. If you are not convinced, just read their reports.
Fortunately, we have also been told (in the Bible) that stopping climate change – or any other disaster - from destroying his creation is part of God’s plan for our future. But to remove any doubt in your mind about that fact you need to read the Bible for yourself. It also explains how you can be part of this world’s brighter future.
More information
Climate change wins a prize!!
Signs of the times
How to read the Bible
Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change
IPCC Report: Climate Change 2007
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