-Global Warming
-ICR/ Institute for CREATION Research --

"And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory." (Revelation 16:9)

There is much being discussed these days, in both the scientific literature and the popular press, on the issue of global warming. An increasing number of scientists and other intellectuals are insisting that the growing emission of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels is producing a significant warming of the whole planet, causing melting of the polar glaciers and probably an alarming increase in catastrophic events such as hurricanes and perhaps even earthquakes and tsunamis.

On the other hand, many more conservative scientists keep insisting that this is a cyclic phenomenon, reminding us that it was not long ago that we were being warned of an imminent ice age. Who can say for sure?

We do know, however, that a terrible time of global warming is indeed coming, but it will be mainly caused by increased solar activity, not carbon dioxide from automobiles and coal plants. "The light of the sun shall be sevenfold" (Isaiah 30:26). "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven" (Malachi 4:1).

In that day, the glaciers indeed will all melt and the resulting increase in seawater will certainly destroy the world's great coastal cities. "And the Lord God of hosts is he. . . . that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth" (Amos 9:5-6).

The context of all such passages is the judgment period of the last days. But could the current warming phase, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc., be a precursive sign that the real thing is coming soon? In any case, our present response should surely not be what it will be in that day when "they repented not to give him glory."

--ICR/ HMM
-October 24,2011

-Will Reducing Carbon Dioxide Solve Global Warming?
-By: Brian Thomas, M.S.
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Recently, scientists projected that even very drastic reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will do very little to slow atmospheric CO2 buildup, and therefore global warming. Nevertheless, the authors of a recent paper in Environmental Research Letters recommended that these drastic reductions should take place now, and that even more CO2 emission restrictions should be mandated in the future.

The researchers cited the results of the International Panel on Climate Change 2007 report that claimed man-made chemicals are to blame for global warming: “The dominant factor in the radiative forcing of climate in the industrial era is the increasing concentration of various greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Positive “radiative forcing” refers to an increase in global temperature and is typically measured in watts of energy per square meter of land. The same report stated—and our popular culture has repeated it as fact—that the specific greenhouse gas CO2 is a major cause of global warming.

Many climatologists, including Dr. Larry Vardiman, disagree about the role of CO2 in this respect. They have found that the observed increase in CO2 (whether produced by human activity or not) is not causing global warming, but is perhaps caused by it! Dr. Vardiman was featured in a video presentation in which he referenced a graph showing that the fluctuations in atmospheric CO2 follow after corresponding fluctuations in atmospheric temperature.

In addition, “the detailed temperature record since 1850 shows a temperature decline between 1940 and 1970 [a time when massive amounts of industrial CO2 were entering the atmosphere], which flies in the face of the explanation that a continuous exponential increase in carbon dioxide causes global warming.”

Dr. Vardiman has also demonstrated the remarkably close overlaps of temperature to sunspots, indicating that solar cycles are more likely the cause of global warming.

-<www.icr.org>

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-Global Warming in the News
-By: John D. Morris, Ph.D.

The recent rush to enact legislation addressing "global warming" brings back memories, not all of them good. As has happened several times in the past, dire warnings of impending doom have predicted devastation to the planet, all backed up by pronouncements of scientists. While we recall them, let's remind ourselves that science and the opinions of some scientists are two different things. Often there seems to be a hidden agenda, either financial or political.

Of course, as we learned in last month's Impact article, threats of global warming are not baseless, for there are observations of fluctuations in parameters. Are they normal oscillations or long term trends? Are they due to human activity or natural causes? The best observations and speculations are that they are of natural origin, and the earth will readjust in time.
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Let it be known that I am not overly concerned by global warming. I consider the scare as an effort to promote extreme political views. Some would fall under the label socialist, others Marxist, all desiring power vested in the hands of an elite few. The Creator designed the earth well, with built-in feedback mechanisms to handle any crises. There is coming a time, however, when excessive heat will be a problem (see Revelation 16:8-9), and these fluctuations may be a foreshadowing, but that too is in God's hands.
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Here is an article from the Institute for Creation Research:
Global Warming in the News (http://www.icr.org/article/global-warming-news/)

Thanks for discussing such an important issue here.We are badly damaging natural climate.We should think for our next generations.
The burning of fuel is playing major role for Ozone depletion which is really alarming.

-Energy Bill Won't Solve Global Warming
-By: Brian Thomas, M.S.

United States lawmakers are considering a bill whose purpose is “to make energy more expensive, so people use less of it and to create a penalty for carbon-based fuels.”1 Its intent is to reduce the emission of the greenhouse gases that are supposedly fueling global warming. If passed, the bill would set up a complicated system called “cap and trade” whereby fossil fuel distribution would be regulated by the government.

Critics believe the bill will give the U.S. government socialist-like authority over the American people, which could deal a severe and lasting blow to the U.S. economy. Does the science behind man-made carbon dioxide-caused climate change justify such sweeping legislation?

The Center for Energy Economics in Texas performed a study that showed that such measures will “reduce state economic output by 1.6 percent, or $25 billion, in 2030.” The study was presented by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs to national lawmakers in an effort to “at least tell them what the worst-case scenario is.”1

Texas state geologist Scott Tinker participated in the study. He told The Dallas Morning News that carbon dioxide “is only one component of a very complicated, nonlinear set of time variant, natural and manmade drivers of climate change.”1 He hesitated to link perceived climate change issues directly and exclusively to man-made carbon dioxide emissions, a stance that seems to coincide with the views of 31,478 American scientists who have signed the “Global Warming Petition Project” asking the U.S. government to reject the Kyoto global warming agreement. The petition states in part:

There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate.2

On the contrary, the most convincing scientific evidence points to an active sun as the main cause of global warming. Danish physicist Henrik Svensmark accurately correlated solar activity with global temperature.3 ICR climatologist Larry Vardiman has also pointed out that carbon dioxide levels increase after temperature rises, not before—showing that carbon dioxide is more of a result than a cause of global warming—and that the globe has actually been cooling in recent years in response to unusual solar inactivity.4, 5

The fossil record shows clear evidence of massive volcanism in earth’s past that must have been accompanied by the ejection of many times more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, than the total produced by humans in recorded history.6 If the current dire predictions that are driving extreme global warming policies were true, the earth’s climate would surely have been destroyed long before mankind had a chance to mess it up.

Scripture states that God created the world, and in His wisdom He made earth’s atmosphere a robust, life-sustaining environment—as evidenced, for instance, in microbial carbon dioxide balance-maintaining systems.7 If the above scientific observations are accurate, then the potential sacrifice of jobs, economic stability, and political freedoms that the current cap and trade energy bill would incur will have been worse than pointless in the long run since it will have made no significant impact on global warming.
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For References: <www.icr.org> TYPE: Title on search bar.

-- Global Warming? Trees to the Rescue!
--By: Brian Thomas, M.S.


-Americans are all too familiar with environmental activists' gloomy projections of global crises, including the assertion that mankind's gaseous carbon dioxide emissions will inevitably send the planet into an irreversible greenhouse sweat box. In contrast, ICR articles have noted how belief in evolution largely underpins the common view of a fragile planet. Some of those same articles introduced the idea that God-designed systems maintain healthy levels of atmospheric gases required for life. So how should the news that the world's forests are greening because of increased carbon dioxide be interpreted?

Forest scientists have been watching a pleasant trend, even amidst unpleasant environmentalist diatribes—the world's forests are expanding, even in arid regions. The trees are growing without any extra water. All they needed was more carbon dioxide.

A recent collaboration of scientists analyzed carbon dioxide data taken from decades-old monitoring stations. They found that forests "have become dramatically more efficient in how they use water," according to Harvard news. And the key to that efficiency was an uptick in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Plants simply find it easier to extract carbon dioxide from air that has more of it—which they then use for more efficient photosynthesis.

Though he was quick to say that the biosphere's future might still collapse, Trevor Keenan, lead author of the paper published in Nature, told Harvard news, "This could be considered a beneficial effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide."

Keenan also said, "What's surprising is we didn't expect the effect to be this big. A large proportion of the ecosystems in the world are limited by water—they don't have enough water during the year to reach their maximum potential growth. If they become more efficient at using water, they should be able to take more carbon out of the atmosphere due to higher growth rates."

So, in effect, the world's forests are helping sequester excess carbon dioxide, all without any human intervention.

And it appears that the warming trend itself proceeded primarily without human intervention, too. A decrease in the rate of warming within the last fifteen years has surprised many climate scientists. Although still in the minority, a growing number of them link weather trends to solar activity. The failure of climate models to anticipate this decrease in the rate of warming may have resulted from a failure to link solar activity with warming.

Trees have been indispensable throughout history for the ways they have directly benefitted human and animal life. This news of a greening planet brings yet another reason to thank God for trees. Forests help balance levels of atmospheric gases integral to living things.

--ICR/BT
-To read further information from ICR go to <www.icr.org>