More than 300 federal and nonfederal scientists worked on the “National Climate Assessment,” which was reviewed by13 federal agencies. The report estimates that about 92% of climate change can be attributed to the harmful effects of human actions.
Read it for yourself. If it’s too daunting, read just the FAQs. Here are a few excerpts to the point:
“Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities.”
“The warming trend observed over the past century can only be explained by the effects that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, have had on the climate.”
“The evidence of human-caused climate change is overwhelming and continues to strengthen, that the impacts of climate change are intensifying across the country, and that climate-related threats to Americans’ physical, social, and economic well-being are rising.”
“Climate change is altering the world around us in ways that become increasingly evident with each passing decade. Natural and human systems that we rely on are being impacted by more intense precipitation events, rising sea level, and a warming ocean and will be impacted by projected increases in the frequency of droughts and heat waves and other extreme weather patterns.”
“The choices made today largely determine what impacts may occur in the future. Carbon dioxide can persist in the atmosphere for a century or more, so emissions released now will still be affecting climate for years to come.”
Now here are some things President Trump has said about climate change, before and after the report came out.
“The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive.”
“It used to not be ‘climate change.’ It used to be ‘global warming.’ That wasn’t working too well, ’cause it was getting too cold all over the place.”
“I’m not a big believer in man-made climate change.”
“It’s really cold outside, they are calling it a major freeze, weeks ahead of normal. Man, we could use a big fat dose of global warming!“
“Brutal extended cold blast could shatter ALL RECORDS – Whatever happened to global warming?”
“Is there climate change? Yeah. Will it go back like this, I mean will it change back? Probably.”
“Well, I think we’ve contributed, we certainly contribute, I mean, there’s certain pollutants that go up and there’s certain things that happen.”
“I want everybody to report whatever they want, but ultimately I’m the one that makes that final decision. I can also give you reports where people very much dispute that (the claim that climate change is human caused).”
“I have a natural instinct for science, and I will say that you have scientists on both sides of the picture.”
“What I’m not willing to do is sacrifice the economic well-being of our country for something that nobody really knows.”
Do I know science––or politics for that matter? No. But I do believe 300 congressionally mandated scientists and the 13 agencies over the president, who admitted he hadn’t even read the report before he began debunking it!
Does it matter? Maybe not to you, but it will for your children and grandchildren, long after anyone remembers that our president chose immediate “economic well-being of the country” over long term stewardship of our planet. It also matters to God, who commissioned us to tend and not trash his garden.
To the president, it’s about money and votes. To us it should be about the truth, about taking our responsibility before God seriously, and about giving coming generations, especially the most vulnerable populations, a better chance at a future.
Not for the sake of “Mother Earth” but for the glory of Father God that we should refuse to exploit the house he gave us. Since everything he made is “good” we should be eager to be the good stewards of it until he returns to make all things new.
If your parents give you a car for graduation they expect you to take care of it and not use it to hurt others. It wouldn’t bode well if later you handed it off to your little sister rusted, dented, and running on 2 cylinders.
As someone pointed out, this is a “Joseph Moment.”
“We are killing our planet. Let’s face it––there is no Planet B.” French President Emmanuel Macron
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