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49 1/11/2008
Global Warming or Global Deception?
GLOBAL WARMING OR GLOBAL DECEPTION?
The movie The Day after Tomorrow tries to show the effects of global warming as the Antarctic ice melts away, huge tornadoes and tsunamis sweep across New York, LA and Tokyo is devastated with large hail. Do we really have anything to be concerned about? There are over 60 theories of how the past ice age began, global warming is just another theory whereas the cold waters of the melting glaciers stop the warmer Gulf Stream currents and the continents cool down causing the ice to form.
Ironically, many scientists were opposed to the unscientific data of the film, but later warmed up to the propaganda just to get people thinking about the dangers of global warming. At a pre-release screening in Britain, the film was said to be pure fiction (Callus, 2004). The propaganda and hype is primarily why so many environmentalists and politicians grabbed onto it. But what is behind the idea of global warming to begin with since it was obviously there before this movie came out?
The theory of evolution and the faulty time-line is a key factor in the understanding of the past ice-age and its applications to today’s global warming. The Greenland ice shows abrupt changes in climate. If what happened in the distant past could happen again today, billions of people would die. Some say that such a climate change could be equal to the Permian extinction that wiped out 95% of the species on earth (Lynas, 2004). Although many scientists are saying it will not happen as fast as it did in the movie, perhaps over several decades it could happen. However, we must remember that the Permian extinction is nothing more than evidence of Noah’s Flood.
Nonetheless, wildfires and hurricanes are being hyped up as evidence that global warming is occurring today. Never mind the fact that studies have shown the increase in forest fires is more due to the environmentalists not allowing old wood to be logged, thus created fuel for the fires when they start by lightning or carelessness. On the other hand, still other Climatologists are saying the change could be abrupt due to quick changes in the new GISP2 and GRIP Greenland ice cores (Lynas, 2004). However, we must remember that all of this is based on evolutionary and uniformitarian assumptions. The Bible would indicate that Noah’s Flood was instrumental in these rapid climate changes. If the Flood was the cause of the ice age, we see that the ice has been relatively stable since that point.
Is there anything to worry about? Not really. I do believe global warming is real but to what extent, by what means, and is it harmful? Advocates say the thinning Arctic ice, retreating glaciers and Lake Michigan ice shrinkage all support global warming. They also say that atmospheric models predict 10 degree F increases and double the Carbon Dioxide levels by 2100 AD. (Sission, 2001). Interestingly, the atmosphere increased its Carbon dioxide content by about 30% since the industrial revolution. Not to mention that other greenhouse gases like methane have increased the Carbon dioxide level equivalencies to another 30% and thus, an overall 60% increase. Yet with 60% increase in Carbon dioxide levels we have only a one degree increase in temperature (Michaels, 2000). This raises the question does the Carbon dioxide increase really matter that much in relation to global warming? Many suggest this one degree increase in the past 50 years or so is due to cyclical trends or to solar radiation, not global warming.
Addressing the harmful question, many climatologists say that a warmer climate would simply result in more rain and the added carbon dioxide would simply increase plant growth, which in turn would counteract the problem. After all, scientists say that at the time of the dinosaur the vegetation was much greater as well. According to evolutionary thinking we may just be going back to environment of that time again.
To truly understand this topic and its relation to the Noah’s Flood we must examine the catastrophic nature of the Flood. The Flood would certainly have mixed the oceans from top to bottom, distributing heat from friction and magma coming from the “fountains of the great deep bursting open” (Gen 7:11) causing plate tectonics. Today, there is a deficiency of iron in our oceans. It has long been believed that high iron concentrations would limit the growth of phytoplankton in the oceans. The late John Martin was the director of the Moss Landing Oceanographic Laboratory. He conducted many studies in the lab showing that adding iron to ocean water samples caused phytoplankton to grow quickly and carbon dioxide was reduced. He thus, somewhat jokingly said, “Give me half a tanker of iron and I’ll give you and Ice Age!” in a 1988 lecture. Although he died before he could confirm this experiment, some of his colleagues did two field experiments that were funded by the National Science Foundation.
In the Fall of 1993 and again in 1995, they seeded a 250 square mile patch of ocean with iron sulfate near the Galapagos Islands (Impact 294). It only took a few hours for the clear blue ocean waters with 200-foot visibility to turn a murky green with only 4 to 6-foot visibility due to the rapid growth of phytoplankton. For almost a week these patches were observed as they drifted with the current and grew thicker and thicker and then slowly dispersed and were eaten up by zooplankton. In this short time, the plant biomass had doubled, the chlorophyll had tripled and the overall plant production had quadrupled. (Nature 371, pp. 123-129). The carbon dioxide levels at the surface were reduced drastically within the first 48 hours.
The point of this experiment is very telling for Bible believing Christians. What if one could repeat this experiment on a global scale? Noah’s Flood would pretty much do so as the iron from the continents would be distributed throughout the entire ocean. It is believed that this would cause phytoplankton to grow quickly, the waters to turn a murky green and the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to drastically be reduced, causing the climate to cool and result in an ice age. However, when the iron was dissipated the phytoplankton decreased and carbon dioxide levels increased, warming the atmosphere, ending the ice-age, and leaving evidence that later ungodly men would interpret as a sudden Permian extinction. Science indeed shows an increase in carbon dioxide levels since the ice-age. (Nature 329, pp. 408-414). Could the Flood be an explanation as to why?
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to rule on a suit which makes the EPA regulate the release of carbon dioxide. The president is being lobbied to be sure that the U.S. emits less carbon dioxide than it did in 1990. Al Gore, received a Nobel prize for his stand on such matters. Yet, with all of this hype going on, the February 2, 2007, the Fourth IPCC Assessment Report on global warming was released. Interestingly, the report reduced the alarmist rhetoric as Climatologists found that they had overestimated the rise in global temperature and observations do not support the predictions. How can this be? First off, our available records showing the effects of increased carbon dioxide are limited. There is no dispute over the fact that carbon dioxide has increased greatly for the past 50 years. The following data was collected by C. C. Keeling of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii.
Fig. 1. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration.
Fig. 2. Sea-surface Temperature.
Fig. 3. Frequency of Hurricanes.
Fig. 4. Extent of Sea Ice.
What is not clear, is if the increase is due to burning of fossil fuels and if it is causing the apparent warming trend. If global warming is happening, the ocean temperature must also be rising. In the Gulf of Alaska there has been an increase of about 3% over the recorded 30 years. Hurricanes in the western Atlantic have also increased 3% over the last 150 measurable years. The ice in the Artic has indeed decreased by about 5% in the last recorded 25 years. The problem is that this data comes from a limited range of time in reference to the whole. Also, variations within the climate are evident and must be expected. Could this be just one of those cycles? As we look at the Hurricane frequency, there is a 30-40 year period of higher or lower frequencies. Since 1995 there was an increase but prior to that there were 30 years of fewer hurricanes. Thus from the evidence, we can say that global warming is occurring, at least over the past 30-50 years, but has it happened like that before? Will this trend continue?
One final question must be examined. Is man the cause of this global warming? Although it is believed that increased carbon dioxide would increase the temperature, it is not scientifically clear if global warming is caused by the increase in carbon dioxide or if the increase in carbon dioxide is caused by global warming. In other words, perhaps global warming is occurring because of something else, and as a result, there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The oceans put out thousands of times more carbon dioxide that man can put into the atmosphere. If something else is warming the ocean, it would release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. One possibility is found in a recent series of articles by Henrik Svensmark and Nigel Marsh, cosmic ray specialists from Denmark. Their studies show an indirect connection between galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensity and global temperature (Svensmark and Marsh, 2003). During high periods of sunspot activity more GCR hits the Earth. This creates more carbon-14, and possibly more cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which in turn, appears to create more low-level clouds which cool the Earth. When the Sun activity is low, GCR is low and the Earth is warmed. Svensmark and Marsh have shown a striking statistical correlation between sunspot activity and global cooling and warming over the past 1000 years. Therefore, the possibility remains that the current global warming may partially be due to current low solar activity. Though more study needs to be done, one must keep an open mind and not buy into all the hype going on right now.
Further support for Noah’s Flood causing the ice-age comes from the volcanic eruption of Tambora, Indonesia in 1815. This volcano put enough sulphurous gases into the atmosphere to cause two years without summer. (Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2003; v. 213; p. 371-380) Even in the current U.S. there were crop failures due to a cooler climate. If one volcano can do such a thing by putting gases into the atmosphere, why wouldn’t the numerous volcanoes at the time of Noah’s Flood when the fountains of the great deep were bursting open, likewise create colder climates and an ice-age. Perhaps part of the global warming trend we have observed in the last 30-50 years is simply the earth continuing to restabilize itself from the catastrophic Flood and we are currently returning to a more pre-Flood environment. This pre-Flood environment wasn’t a bad thing so perhaps we should welcome global warming?
In any case, we must remember that God has promised to take care of all of our needs. The earth was created for man and man does have a responsibility to take care of the gift God has given him. The earth has a stable environment and anything unstable in the past has only been divine judgment upon man for his sin. Rather than focusing on carbon footprints and politics, perhaps we should get down on our knees and repent of all the sins going on in this country and in our lives. Abortion and the practice of homosexuality are not only running rampant. I believe God would say the same of us as he said to the Israelites “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them," says the LORD” (Jer 6:15). The only global warming we need to truly concern ourselves with is spoken of in Peter: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare” (2 Peter 3:8-10). Revelation also warns, “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him” (Rev 16:8-9). Indeed, unless we repent of our sins, there will be a warming effect that is not only global, but eternal.
1. Svensmark, H. 2000. Cosmic rays and Earth's climate. Space Science Reviews. 93: 155-166. 2. Marsh, N., and H. Svensmark. 2003. GCR and ENSO trends in ISCCP-D2 low cloud properties. Journal of Geophysical Research. 108(D6): 1-11. 3. Marsh, N., and H. Svensmark. 2003. Solar influence on Earth's climate. Space Science Reviews. 107: 317-325. 4. Callus, A., May 12, 2004, Climate change gets a Hollywood makeover, Reuters 5. Calvin, W. H., 1998. The great climate flip-flop. Atlantic Monthly 281 (1): p. 47. 6. Lynas, M., May 17, 2004, NS Essay—global warming: is it already too late? New Statesman 7. Sisson, T. W., J. W. Vallance, and P. T. Pringle, 2001. IPCC report cautiously warns of potentially dramatic climate change impacts. EOS 82 (9), p. 113, 114, 120. 8. Michaels, P. J. and R. C. Balling, Jr., 2000. The Satanic Gases: Clearing the Air about Global Warming, CATO Institute, Washington, D.C., p. 31. 9. Oard, M. J., 2003. Are polar ice sheets only 4500 years old? Impact #361, Institute for Creation Research, El Cajon, California. 10. Oard, M. J., 2002. Wild ice-core interpretations by uniformitarian 11. Vardiman, Larry, Impact Article from ICR #294 December 1997.