The environment has become a keen interest of conversation among generation Z and Y (millennials). If you turn on NBC or CNN, climate change is the predominant focal point regarding the environment. There are concerns how our garbage is being disposed of too. That is my main concern anyway. Regardless, the observation the past few years is fascinating. There is lack of discussion of being good stewards for our planet, without hitting the panic button, declaring the world will end. It’s gone as far as creating a countdown clock in New York City. If you have payed attention, there’s always an ad or program detailing the unintended consequences of our energy production. And any person whom questions the science is in denial, ignorant or repulsive in character. Incongruous with mainstream belief, you can believe in climate change AND disagree with the alarmist paradigm.
Yes, I believe in climate change. I understand the earth has been warming up since the Last Glacial Maximum. Yes, the human usage of fossil fuels have negative consequences, including the contribution of rising temperatures. I also acknowledge our current methods of disposing our garbage have negatively impacted the oceans and land. It is true that ice caps are melting with higher heat indexes, creating havoc for polar bears in their domains. There needs to be a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. We need solutions on how to clean up the garbage out of our waters. Recycling isn’t the answer-much of it ends up in the ocean anyway after the United States ships our recyclables to third-world countries like Vietnam, Thailand, etc. The garbage gets into our food, which in turn can adversely affect an already sick population. Accountability is needed in this time. I’m breaking the stigma that Christian conservatives don’t believe any of this. It is real. Nobody has ever advocated to destroy the only habitable known planet. Think about it. The earth is my house-and like my house I want to keep it clean for my own health’s sake. As much as earth zealots want to argue otherwise, we are not imbeciles, maliciously attempting to contribute to the predicament. There are more pieces to the puzzle to consider, however before jumping off the cliff without a parachute.
This isn’t the first time scientist predicted a doomsday scenario for the future. Shall we go back to the 1970s? That’s right; the almighty scientist of the 1970s forecasted the next ice age. The crystal ball the scientist used, had the earth in a full blown ice age as early 2000 (for the fact-checkers, it was never specified 2000, it just stated ‘By the 21st century’ per Boston Globe). During their studies, temperatures had been dropping in the artic for 30 years with record low winters during the latter part of the decade. That wasn’t the only time scientist incorrectly prognosed the future. Let’s take a trip to the 2000s and Al Gore. Yes, Al Gore once projected the ice caps were gonna dissipate between the years 2014-2016. To be fair, later in the conference he stated there was a possibility it could be as late as 2030. The five to seven year prediction had a 75% chance of becoming a reality. He’s a politician. Okay, Wieslaw Maslowski, a professor, foretold the artic ice removal by 2013 in 2007. Again, in fairness not all agreed with him. Nonetheless, these are the reports the media amplifies, creating illusions the planet is at the breaking point. Time for a reality check-that never happened. As a matter of fact, NASA reported in 2015 Antarctica accumulated enough ice to balance out the ice loss in the artic. And as of 2020, the artic sea ice growth reached a 10 year high. Scientist are intelligent people, but not infallible. Evidently, this has never been a black and white matter.
It is okay to admit information changes. And it’s fair to asses the conclusions from the 1970s were due to lack of technology. Okay, you have me there. The 75% chance of the ice caps completely melting between the years of 2014-2016, however is untenable. People cannot condemn those who are skeptical of these predictions. Evidence shows the day of reckoning of becoming a reality are farce, perpetuated by fear. There is uncertainty as to the motivation that lead scientists to the outlandish theories, however it is not relevant. What’s concrete then? The science of climate change is not absolute. And while we have climate experts opinion to consider, regarding economic policy, there is another field of science to weigh in-energy. It is ignorant to only abide by a science that hasn’t been proven to be consistent in their forecast. Again, not advocating to disregard our earth’s warming temperatures. There are other departments of science that have different perspectives on the environment. Without their input, we will continue to have the lopsided hypothesis on the subject that leads to hysteria. There MUST be humility and honesty. Admitting to be wrong, nor not have all the answers will help our world become properly educated on the subject.
The environmental dystopian predictions may have been proven to be misleading, it does not change the other realities. The absolutes include fossil fuel usage-it does affect our temperatures. How much is inconclusive, but we cannot take for our planet for granted. When the world shut itself off for the month of March, we learned how resilient the ozone layer was. We live in a capitalistic economy, if the market is pushed towards the direction to move away from fossil fuel it will. Why? The market responds to the consumer, you and I! Garbage disposal is another challenge we must accept. Until the circumstances change regarding accountability, limiting our garbage disposal will contribute to being the solution. It is a small one, but nobody is asking each other to be heroes. It is also understated that developing countries underinvest in waste management. The western population need to break the habit of spoon feeding financially and allow their civilization to innovate. Encourage them to become self-efficient that’ll allow them to increase the middle-class, affording to focus on first-world problems such as waste management. Otherwise, without their help our methods of disposition won’t evolve.
Mother nature is a difficult study to fully grasp. Any time man think he understands her, she proves herself to break conventional wisdom. It is foolish to ever think man will ever be able to control or infallibly understand one of God’s designs of his creation. We can appreciate the creation set before us, while not idolizing flawed men and women, getting caught up in the emotion. Activist will bombard pictures on social media and news outlets to make the situation seem unprecedented, needing to take drastic action. Like any picture, however, there is always more to the story than what the picture suggest. Take these theories with a grain of salt, live in peace, respecting the planet gifted.
Author’s Note: Anything underlined is a link for you to click on if desired. Readers are encouraged to educated themselves and seek other sources for information.
Things I do to ‘reduce’ my carbon footprint: buy produce from local farmers, and use mostly ‘green’ cleaning products.
Well thought out and nicely written!! Thank you!