Last month, we learned that creation is groaning from our exploitation of the earth’s land, water, and atmospheric ecosystems. This month, we will learn about the causes of climate change, its impacts, and commonly used terminology. 

It’s important for us to understand climate change science so that we can engage in caring for the earth from an informed perspective.  It’s also crucial because climate change will continue to affect us and God’s creation.  

Let’s start with commonly misunderstood terms used in discussing climate change. The term ‘scientific consensus’ means scientific knowledge that arises from independent research conducted around the world confirming the same empirical results. Scientific studies from the 1800s to today have all confirmed that the burning of oil and gas releases carbon and other gases which trap the sun’s extra heat near the surface of the earth.  

The Earth’s warming temperature has a wide-range of impacts in the lands, oceans, and the atmosphere. Global warming has increased ice melt at the Earth’s north and south poles, resulting in destabilizing of the Arctic ecosystems and the human communities that depend on it for survival, including Indigenous peoples across the Arctic circle. The ice melt also increases sea level rise, impacting coastal cities and countries around the world. Global warming also affects atmospheric air currents including the Gulf Stream, which could have implications for agriculture in the eastern United States and western Europe. The oceans are impacted by absorbing more carbon than their carrying capacity, which raises their overall acidity levels. This increased acidity threatens sea life ranging from fish to coral reefs, which also harms coastal communities that rely on healthy fisheries for food security.

In short, releasing excessive carbon and other greenhouse gases upsets the balance of the Earth’s natural ability to absorb and sequester carbon.  This causes the Earth and creation to groan under the weight of that pollution. 

Scientists use the term ‘scientific certainty’ to explain the statistical confidence intervals that describe the likely range of impacts of climate change, depending on the rate of change. For instance, scientific evidence confirms that Canada’s Arctic ice is melting, however, it is melting sooner than expected. There is certainty that the Arctic ice is melting, and the confidence intervals give a range of the timeframes that could occur.      

Another commonly confusing term is the use of the phrase “believing in climate change”, which can occur in casual conversations or in the media.  Climate change is not a belief system, but a scientifically confirmed fact and phenomenon. Scientifically confirmed facts and phenomena, such as gravity and photosynthesis, help explain how God’s created world works and enable us to work with that information and make evidence-based decisions to steward God’s Earth. 

Independent and investigative journalism shows that oil and gas companies have been misleading citizens about the facts of climate change for decades, parallel in the way that large tobacco companies misled the public in the 1950s about the health impacts of smoking. Misinformation and confusion about climate change facts have delayed action on reducing the carbon and greenhouse gas pollution that drives climate change, and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

The truth matters to us as Christ followers. The Bible describes how God detests lying, falsehoods, and especially those who lead others astray. Misinformation on climate change has done society a disservice by confusing citizens, especially in wealthy countries, on the causes and impacts of climate change. This has hampered our ability to reduce our own pollution and our call for action from our governments and corporations to do the same. For God’s people and creation who are most impacted by climate change, especially the poor and vulnerable, these delays have cost them their livelihoods and communities.

We can act before it’s too late by learning the facts on climate change. Next month we’ll learn about climate change and its implications for justice. 

Sources: 

Scientific American. “Exxon knew about climate change 40 years ago“: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/ 

Go Deeper:

1. Visit NASA’s Global Climate Change website to learn more about the causes, evidence and facts of climate change: https://climate.nasa.gov/

Take Action: 

1. Visit the Skeptical Science website. Choose one false claim about climate change, learn why that claim is false, and what scientific information actually says: https://skepticalscience.com/

2. Check out the “Creation, Climate, and You” conversation toolkit to learn how you can talk with friends and family about climate change: https://fortheloveofcreation.ca/resources/