An Investigation into Climate Change

I have just finished watching the National Geographic film, by Leonardo Di Caprio, “Before the Flood.” In this investigative documentary, Di Caprio looks into the facts and views of climate change. I decided to go along for the ride with Mr. Di Caprio, mainly, because I have very little knowledge on this topic. And instead of continuing to criticize Leonardo’s film, as I, along with many conservative commentators and politicians, have done, I chose to investigate with him.

What I learned in this, just over one and a half hour, film, actually did change some of my thinking toward climate change. I have always been a staunch skeptic of this belief, but now I must admit that climate change is real and it is happening. Before you laugh and close out of this article, please take a look at the facts.

This graph shows the drastic decrease in glacier volume, especially over the past 40 years (1970-2010).

According to this graph, the temperature has consistently risen, especially since the year 1910.

These are not biases; these are facts. The fact of the matter stands that glacial ice is melting, and that over the past century, the temperature even though slightly, has consistently risen. Those are realities that cannot be disputed. Our climate is changing, and most scientists believe that it is changing because of our actions. Many experts are saying that our CO2 (Carbon) emissions, which come from things such as the use of coal, oil, and steam, are causing our world to gradually warm. This warming of our air results in the melting of polar ice which, in turn, causes rising sea levels. Think of it this way: if you have an ice cube in a glass of water and the ice melts, there will be more water in the glass than when the ice was still solid. That is the issue we are dealing with when we talk about melting glaciers.

The greatest problem of rising sea levels is that it causes flooding, especially in island countries, and it can also cause changes in weather patterns. If the ocean water levels are rising that means the small countries that are completely surrounded by the ocean will be greatly affected. Take the island nation of Tuvalu for instance. Tuvalu is a small country in the South Pacific and is one of the smallest countries in the world, its total land area being ten square miles. The people on this island are experiencing the effects of climate change and here’s proof of what this country is dealing with: http://www.moyak.com/papers/tuvalu-climate-change.html.

You cannot deny that our climate is changing because there is just too much evidence proving that it is. The question we must answer is, why is it changing? Is it because of human activity or is there another explanation?

The climate is always changing; it has been since the beginning of time. Let’s take a quick look at a video put out by Prager University titled “What They Haven’t Told You about Climate Change.”

The video shows us that even before people were “polluting” the air with CO2 emissions, the climate was making drastic changes. The video also gives evidence that Carbon emissions don’t effect the atmosphere, which completely destroys the grounds for the case that climate change is our fault.

There is one more flaw in the arguments made by most climate change enthusiasts; a big flaw. In the film, “Before the Flood”, the main emphasis of why climate change is happening and how we can fix it is put completely on mankind. We are the problem and we must be the solution. In their argument they leave no place for a God who created the climate and who is sovereign over it. The individuals striving to prove that we are the cause of global warming and the impending disasters that will come from it put none of their faith in the God who created our world. Toward the end of the film, Di Caprio interviews an Astronaut who, when asked how he can be so optimistic when climate change looks as if it will have such a devastating impact on our world, says “I have faith in people.” The whole climate change movement is based on the belief that people are the only answers to this problem. There is no God for them. No infinite being who has complete control over the earth. For them it is either find a solution to climate change, or the human race will face extinction. But we as Christians know that the human race will not go extinct. We as Christians know that we have a Savior who will one day come to save His people and judge His enemies. This does not mean that we should neglect our duty to care for the earth that God has given us, in fact, God commands us to care for the world (Genesis 1:28). But God also gave us the substances of the earth for us to manage; things like oil and carbon.

The earth’s climate is changing, but the change in our atmosphere is not exceptionally more now than it has been in generations past. There is very little evidence that CO2 emissions are the cause of global warming, and to believe the poorly corroborated argument that our world will be put in danger because we are polluting our air would be a mistake. To close, we must remember that we have been given dominion by God over the world and over every element that he created, and we must take this truth seriously. Likewise, if further study into climate change were to prove that our pollution is the cause of harm to the earth, then yes, we should act accordingly. But until then, there is no reason to refrain from using the resources God has given us.

1. http://static.skepticalscience.com/pics/GlobalGlacierVolumeChange.jpg

2. http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/news/20120119/616910main_gisstemp_2011_graph_lrg%5b1%5d.jpg

3. http://www.moyak.com/papers/tuvalu-climate-change.html

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdbSxyXftc