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Thinking About “Global
 Warming” Biblically


    Charles A. Clough

       10 April 2008
What are the claims being made?

Are these claims verifiable?

A biblical view of “nature”

Christian responses evaluated
Hansen’s “Tipping Point” Theory
   James Hansen, Director of NASA’s
   Goddard Institute for Space Studies




                  Global warming is approaching a
                  tipping point beyond which
                  catastrophic climate change and
                  sea level rises will occur
Hansen’s “Tipping Point” Theory




Blue = sea level (decameters relative to present sea level)
Black = CO2 (ppm)
Red = average earth surface temperature
No human
      measurements
      or observations
          available




No thermometer
networks before ca.
1850; no upper-air
measurements before
1930s; no satellite
measurements before
1970s
“Greenhouse Theory”
Directly-measured temperature
Indirectly-measured temperature
            (inferred)
David Deming
      College of Geosciences, University of
                   Oklahoma
                Norman, OK 73019

“The surest sign of the warming climate in Europe was
the settlement of Greenland by Vikings from Iceland.
The Greenland settlements reached a height of
prosperity in the 12th and 13th centuries when 3,000
colonists occupied 280 farms. The settlements came
under duress in the late 14th century due to the onset of
Little Ice Age cooling; they finally perished in the 15th
century.”
David Deming
       College of Geosciences, University of
                    Oklahoma
                   Norman, OK 73019
“The Medieval Warm Period (MWP) was a time of unusually
warm weather that began around 1000 AD and persisted until a
cold period known as the "Little Ice Age" took hold in the 14th
and 15th centuries. Warmer climate brought a remarkable
flowering of prosperity, knowledge, and art to Europe. As the
temperature increased, so did agricultural yields. Marshes and
swamps dried up, removing the breeding grounds of mosquitoes
that spread malaria. Former wetlands were converted to
productive farmland. Infant mortality fell, and the population
grew. From 1100 to 1300 AD, the population of Europe
increased from about 40 to 60 million.”
David Deming, cont’d
“The existence of the MWP was recognized in the
climate textbooks for decades. But now it was a major
embarrassment to those maintaining that the 20th
century warming was truly anomalous. . . With the
publication of the article in Science, I gained
significant credibility in the community of scientists
working on climate change. They thought I was one of
them, someone who would pervert science in the service
of social and political causes. So one of them let his
guard down. A major person working in the area of
climate change and global warming sent me an
astonishing email that said ‘We have to get rid of the
Medieval Warm Period.’"
How they got rid of the MWP- 1




 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 1995
How they got rid of the MWP- 2



                                     “Hockey Stick”




 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 2001
Indirectly-measured temperature
            (inferred)
The Major Historical Unknown—
       what is “normal”?
What is a global average temperature
 mean? . . .and. . . .
What are the normal (pre-industrial age)
 variations in this mean?



Cannot specify any human-caused effect
on the global temperature unless you know
the answer to this question!!
THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND
      GLOBAL WARMING
Exploitation of “bad news sells” (&
generates funding !)
  “To capture the public imagination, we have to
  offer up scary scenarios, make simplified
  dramatic statements, and make little mention of
  any doubts we may have. Each of us has to
  decide what the right balance is between being
  effective and being honest.”
   A leading proponent of global warming, Steven Schneider of
  Stanford, in Discover magazine (1989)
Global Warming
Vice President Al Gore
                    Earth in the Balance




“While [global warming] is only one of
several strategic threats, it has become a
powerful symbol of the larger crisis and
a focus for the public debate about
whether there really is a crisis at all.”
David Deming, cont’d


“He asked me, did I really mean to say that? Did I
really intend to imply that the warming in North
America may have been due to natural variability?
Without hesitation, I said ‘yes’. He replied, ‘Well then,
I guess we have no story. That's not what people are
interested in. People are only interested if the warming
is due to human activities. Goodbye.’ And he hung up
on me. It was my first realization that the media
intentionally filter the information the public receives.”
Richard S. Lindzen
            Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Sciences
           Massachusetts Institute of Technology, March 16, 2007

•    Even the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
     acknowledges that greenhouse forcing is currently about three
     quarters of what one would expect from a doubling of C02, and yet
     we have seen much less warming at the surface than the models
     project - even with models that have oceans which are supposed to
     delay the response.

•    There is general agreement that the famous ‘blanket’ picture of the
     greenhouse effect that Gore likes to present is, in fact, misleadingly
     wrong. Rather, the real greenhouse climate effect requires most
     warming to occur in the middle of the tropical troposphere (cooling
     at the surface is mainly by motion systems, with the heat deposited
     in the middle of the troposphere where it is then radiated to space),
     and as a recent report of the National Research Council notes,
     warming trends at this level in the tropics appears to actually be
     even smaller than at the surface.

    (Dr. Lindzen was a contributor to the IPCC report prior to the recent one.)
Yuri Izrael
             Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences
              Head of Institute of Global Climate and Ecology
                                April 18, 2007


•
    "I think the panic over global warming is totally
    unjustified. There is no serious threat to the climate."

     (Dr. Izrael is one of three vice-chairmen of the IPCC, the
     international body whose reports have claimed that human-
           induced global warming is a scientific certainty).
The “Best Guess” on GT History
Two Great “Unknowns” in Climate
              Modeling
Are “feedback” atmospheric & oceanic
processes collectively “positive” or
“negative”?
(If “positive”, then ∆Wnet > ∆WCO2; if “negative”, then ∆Wnet
< ∆WCO2)

Are there “positive” feedbacks to
variations in solar energy output?
(e.g., solar wind / cosmic rays / cloud nuclei)
H2O >> CO2
Precipitation Systems Alter H2O,
Redistribute Both H2O and Heat
Recent Global Temperature
Global Warming
Global Warming
Global Warming
A Biblical View of Nature
Dominion covenant with man and nature
 (Gen. 1,2,8,9)
Man is steward of nature
His “naming” requires revelation to guide it


Fall & Flood
Two of the three greatest ecological acts in history


Christ as 2nd Adam will complete the
 dominion mandate for man and nature
Christian Responses
             Evaluated
Evangelical Environmental Network
Dr. (Rev.) Jim Ball
Remediate policies


Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of
 Creation
Dr. E. Calvin Beisner
Accommodate policies
“While the earth remains, seedtime and
harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Gen. 8:22




“I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be
for a token of a covenant between me and the
earth.” Gen. 9:13

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Global Warming

  • 1. Thinking About “Global Warming” Biblically Charles A. Clough 10 April 2008
  • 2. What are the claims being made? Are these claims verifiable? A biblical view of “nature” Christian responses evaluated
  • 3. Hansen’s “Tipping Point” Theory James Hansen, Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies Global warming is approaching a tipping point beyond which catastrophic climate change and sea level rises will occur
  • 4. Hansen’s “Tipping Point” Theory Blue = sea level (decameters relative to present sea level) Black = CO2 (ppm) Red = average earth surface temperature
  • 5. No human measurements or observations available No thermometer networks before ca. 1850; no upper-air measurements before 1930s; no satellite measurements before 1970s
  • 9. David Deming College of Geosciences, University of Oklahoma Norman, OK 73019 “The surest sign of the warming climate in Europe was the settlement of Greenland by Vikings from Iceland. The Greenland settlements reached a height of prosperity in the 12th and 13th centuries when 3,000 colonists occupied 280 farms. The settlements came under duress in the late 14th century due to the onset of Little Ice Age cooling; they finally perished in the 15th century.”
  • 10. David Deming College of Geosciences, University of Oklahoma Norman, OK 73019 “The Medieval Warm Period (MWP) was a time of unusually warm weather that began around 1000 AD and persisted until a cold period known as the "Little Ice Age" took hold in the 14th and 15th centuries. Warmer climate brought a remarkable flowering of prosperity, knowledge, and art to Europe. As the temperature increased, so did agricultural yields. Marshes and swamps dried up, removing the breeding grounds of mosquitoes that spread malaria. Former wetlands were converted to productive farmland. Infant mortality fell, and the population grew. From 1100 to 1300 AD, the population of Europe increased from about 40 to 60 million.”
  • 11. David Deming, cont’d “The existence of the MWP was recognized in the climate textbooks for decades. But now it was a major embarrassment to those maintaining that the 20th century warming was truly anomalous. . . With the publication of the article in Science, I gained significant credibility in the community of scientists working on climate change. They thought I was one of them, someone who would pervert science in the service of social and political causes. So one of them let his guard down. A major person working in the area of climate change and global warming sent me an astonishing email that said ‘We have to get rid of the Medieval Warm Period.’"
  • 12. How they got rid of the MWP- 1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 1995
  • 13. How they got rid of the MWP- 2 “Hockey Stick” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report 2001
  • 15. The Major Historical Unknown— what is “normal”? What is a global average temperature mean? . . .and. . . . What are the normal (pre-industrial age) variations in this mean? Cannot specify any human-caused effect on the global temperature unless you know the answer to this question!!
  • 16. THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND GLOBAL WARMING Exploitation of “bad news sells” (& generates funding !) “To capture the public imagination, we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we may have. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest.” A leading proponent of global warming, Steven Schneider of Stanford, in Discover magazine (1989)
  • 18. Vice President Al Gore Earth in the Balance “While [global warming] is only one of several strategic threats, it has become a powerful symbol of the larger crisis and a focus for the public debate about whether there really is a crisis at all.”
  • 19. David Deming, cont’d “He asked me, did I really mean to say that? Did I really intend to imply that the warming in North America may have been due to natural variability? Without hesitation, I said ‘yes’. He replied, ‘Well then, I guess we have no story. That's not what people are interested in. People are only interested if the warming is due to human activities. Goodbye.’ And he hung up on me. It was my first realization that the media intentionally filter the information the public receives.”
  • 20. Richard S. Lindzen Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology, March 16, 2007 • Even the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change acknowledges that greenhouse forcing is currently about three quarters of what one would expect from a doubling of C02, and yet we have seen much less warming at the surface than the models project - even with models that have oceans which are supposed to delay the response. • There is general agreement that the famous ‘blanket’ picture of the greenhouse effect that Gore likes to present is, in fact, misleadingly wrong. Rather, the real greenhouse climate effect requires most warming to occur in the middle of the tropical troposphere (cooling at the surface is mainly by motion systems, with the heat deposited in the middle of the troposphere where it is then radiated to space), and as a recent report of the National Research Council notes, warming trends at this level in the tropics appears to actually be even smaller than at the surface. (Dr. Lindzen was a contributor to the IPCC report prior to the recent one.)
  • 21. Yuri Izrael Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Head of Institute of Global Climate and Ecology April 18, 2007 • "I think the panic over global warming is totally unjustified. There is no serious threat to the climate." (Dr. Izrael is one of three vice-chairmen of the IPCC, the international body whose reports have claimed that human- induced global warming is a scientific certainty).
  • 22. The “Best Guess” on GT History
  • 23. Two Great “Unknowns” in Climate Modeling Are “feedback” atmospheric & oceanic processes collectively “positive” or “negative”? (If “positive”, then ∆Wnet > ∆WCO2; if “negative”, then ∆Wnet < ∆WCO2) Are there “positive” feedbacks to variations in solar energy output? (e.g., solar wind / cosmic rays / cloud nuclei)
  • 25. Precipitation Systems Alter H2O, Redistribute Both H2O and Heat
  • 30. A Biblical View of Nature Dominion covenant with man and nature (Gen. 1,2,8,9) Man is steward of nature His “naming” requires revelation to guide it Fall & Flood Two of the three greatest ecological acts in history Christ as 2nd Adam will complete the dominion mandate for man and nature
  • 31. Christian Responses Evaluated Evangelical Environmental Network Dr. (Rev.) Jim Ball Remediate policies Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation Dr. E. Calvin Beisner Accommodate policies
  • 32. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Gen. 8:22 “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.” Gen. 9:13

Editor's Notes

  1. Prepared by Jim Wilkinson, former Junior Warden of Truro Church.
  2. Prepared by Jim Wilkinson, former Junior Warden of Truro Church.
  3. Jim Hansen is a planetary physicist, not an atmospheric scientist, whose perspective is that of large space and time scales. He triggered much of the current “global warming” debate in 1988. His view is that the earth’s thermal energy system is “meta-stable” which means it amplifies small perturbations in temperature into large and serious effects. As Goddard director and member of the National Academy of Sciences he has been in a powerful and highly influential position.
  4. Here is a part of one of his charts that shows sea-level, CO2 concentration, and average earth surface temperatures as these have been inferred from a 5.6km deep ice core taken in Antarctica. Note that no direct temperature measurements exist before about 1800 so these data are inferred from so-called proxies by various theoretical models. The basic conclusion from these data is this: There seems to be a 100,000 yr cycle of very significant changes in the earth’s temperature (about 5 o C) and sea-level (about 100m). This cycle appears to correspond to a 100,000 yr cycle in slight oscillations in the Earth’s orbit. The problem is that such slight changes in solar energy reaching the earth can’t be directly responsible for such major changes in the earth’s environment. Therefore, it is hypothesized that there are “amplifiers” somewhere in the atmosphere-ocean system that exaggerate the effect of solar energy changes. The claim by Hansen and other like-minded scientists is that with post-Industrial CO2 emissions the earth’s temperature is being forced upward to a point where amplification will take place that will drastically alter the earth’s climate. If there are amplifying effects, another one seems to be the media and politicians.
  5. It affected Greenland profoundly. It is testified by tree ring data in California, by higher rainfall along the North African coast, and longer growing seasons in China. How could CO2 emissions cause it? Moreover, temperatures were undoubtedly warmer around the globe then than they are today—in spite of the “hockey stick” graph so widely circulated by the alarmists. The MWP was followed by the Little Ice Age around the time of the founding of this nation. The warming we are experiencing is simply the result of our emergence from the LIA.
  6. Let’s look at more recent climate changes that can be more directly described with less conjecture. Also let’s note that there is no “consensus” that GW is in danger of a “tipping point” or that GW is primarily anthropogenic. The MWP is well attested in Europe and elsewhere in spite of GW enthusiasts claiming it was confined to Europe alone.
  7. Moreover, there is obvious media bias involved in the present debate as in other great debates going on. Here is Dr. Deming’s experience.
  8. In fact the alarmists did get rid of MWP. Here is the original depiction of global temperatures showing clearly that MWP temperatures far exceeded today’s warming. This graph appeared in the IPCC report dated 1995.
  9. In 1998 Michael Mann at Univ of Massachusetts “reworked” the temperature data from derivations of California tree rings, contradicting the vast majority of historical sources on MWP. The Clinton administration apparently under the influence of VP Gore grabbed this graph for their US climate assessment report in 2000. Mann was named as a lead author of the next IPCC report published in 2001 (source of this graph called “the Hockey Stick” in scientific circles) and an editor of The Journal of Climate. However, two Canadian statisticians—McIntyre and McKitrick—kept demanding to see the data Mann used until reluctantly it was furnished. They discovered and subsequently published a stunning critique that faulted the Hockey Stick analysis for collation errors, unjustifiable truncation or extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, geographical location errors, and incorrect calculation of principle components.
  10. Shortly after Hansen started warnings in 1988, others quickly followed. Steven Schneider began publishing popular articles the next year.
  11. Al Gore has taken up the role of a crusader for “doing something” about GW.
  12. Notice, however, that another, more political theme enters—a crisis of global dimension exists that require global and politically-driven solution.
  13. Deming recounts a conversation he had with National Public Radio a few years ago.
  14. Contrary to the media, prominent climate scientists profoundly disagree with the alarmist scenario, even those who worked on the famous Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. For example, Dr. Lindzen of MIT who authored a key graduate level textbook on atmospheric dynamics has repeatedly stated his belief in “dampening” factors in the atmosphere that work to keep it stable against big changes. I would sooner trust Dr. Lindzen than Dr. Hansen when it comes to atmospheric dynamics.
  15. Even one of the IPCC chairman now admits GW urgency has been overdone.
  16. Even one of the IPCC chairman now admits GW urgency has been overdone.
  17. What is the primary driver of warming this planet? The sun. Even the Hansen tipping point model roots the first cause in solar radiation changes. But notice this graph from the Harvard Observatory. Sunspot activity correlates well with the emergence of the planet from the Little Ice Age.
  18. Here is a graph comparing temperature anomalies to variations in sunspot cycle length.
  19. Here’s another graph comparing CO2 concentration with solar energy input. Which has the better correlation?
  20. As biblical Christians we must have the spiritual and intellectual courage to draw out of the Word of God the great implications for whatever our situation demands. Nature is NOT better off without man, contrary to the Green extremists. Man is the steward of nature under God. The only basis for science (as the early scientists knew) is the set of conditions provided in the Word of God, viz., a nature ruled by rational purpose, a mind designed to interpret nature (under the authority of special revelation) as almost all early scientists believed. 2 of the 3 greatest ecological acts were and will be done by man: the fall, the flood, and the return of Christ to establish the MK and ES. In contrast to the basic pagan idea of origins which forms the underpinning of the “universal history project” begun by natural history investigators after the Enlightenment, a young-earth model now being developed by Bible-believing trained scientists shows that past climatic alterations—where truly genuine—were results of the great flood catastrophe in Noah’s day and the subsequent geophysical adjustments. The earth’s climate has settled down to periodic variations within limits. Meanwhile today we are in neither the Tribulation nor the Millennium and so can expect climatic variation to continue within limits.
  21. For the first time in recent American history, the evangelical vote is becoming significantly split between traditional conservative candidates and liberal ones over the type of response to GW that is championed. The Evangelical Environmental Network follows the Hansen model so it applies the biblical doctrine of stewardship to require support of urgent and draconian measures to remediate what that model believes about anthropogenic global warming. It backs Kyoto, for example, that omits China and India and at best would lower global temperatures by less than 0.1 deg C. In opposition to the EEN, the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation holds to the natural cycle model of climate change. It applies the doctrine of stewardship, therefore, to policies of accommodation to climate change. It argues that devoting valuable trillions in the world economy to the flawed notion of trying to remediate an imagined anthropogenic global warming, those resources would be better spent in accommodating mankind to altered climate and helping the underdeveloped world overcome poverty using fossil fuels as necessary. The idea here is that poor societies are more destructive of the environment climate-wise than wealthier societies.
  22. As the Bible declares nature has been designed for a purpose—to bear witness to our Creator, Redeemer, and Judge. It is through nature that His sovereign providence affects the affairs of mankind “that unbelieving man might blindly grope after Him and find Him”. It is not some imagined vague set of “natural laws” that control nature; rather it is God’s “contracts” or covenants, covenants revealed explicitly in Scripture. As the Noahic Covenant or Contract says, . . . .”