Kerby Anderson

Why so much anger, fear, and despair? That’s what you see at environmental demonstrations, and that’s what you hear in speeches from environmentalists and politicians. The future is doom and gloom. And we’re the guilty party. Warnings about global warming and climate change are taking on a religious flavor. A few months ago in a Breakpoint commentary, John Stonestreet said some of the rhetoric came across like the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He pointed to some of the apocalyptic excerpts from Bill McKibben’s book, Falter. If you want to know why people are scared, look at some of McKibben’s scary predictions. By the end of this century, the oceans may become so hot as to stop oxygen production by phytoplankton. We would lose two-thirds of the Earth’s oxygen resulting in mass mortality of animals and humans. A thawed reindeer carcass in Siberia released anthrax into nearby water and soil. That infected reindeer and some humans. This explains why I’ve been hearing people afraid that melting ice might release smallpox and the bubonic plague into the world. He argues that melting ice sheets could trigger more earthquakes. And he wonders if the new seawater might start to bend the Earth’s crust. All of this is due to increased CO2 in the atmosphere. But he also warns that we might not be able to think straight because cognitive ability declines in higher carbon dioxide levels. All of this sounds like something out of the book of Revelation, or perhaps we should call it, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Planet.” But these are exaggerated scenarios based on lots of speculation and are designed to drive people to immediate political action. As Christians, we are called to exercise good stewardship of the creation. And we should trust in God’s protection and not fall prey to these fearful scenarios.