Climate Change: A Christian Opinion

By John D. Trombley

This past fall I had the opportunity to speak with a fellow brother in Christ, and he, knowing my views on climate change, asked two simple questions—Does it really matter if the Earth gets a few degrees warmer? Can we make a real change or would our attempts to mitigate climate change just be futile?

Will the Earth Go Boom?

Will a rise in the Earth’s temperature by a few degrees destroy the planet? No.

Yet people are already starting to feel the effects of the 1°F increase that has taken place in the last 40 years.^1,2 A warming planet means the climate will change; some places will get dryer and others wetter. Just as when Joseph lived, drought means famine; a large portion of the current population relies on sources of clean drinking water that changing weather patterns will jeopardize. Some will get more rain and, in turn, more floods. With a warming climate, the ranges of some animals, such as the mosquito, will increase and bring with them diseases. The oceans are rising, and our storms are becoming more powerful.^1,2

We all saw the aftermath of Katrina, and we also saw who got hurt the most—the poorest among us. In Matthew 25:40, Jesus says “…Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” As Christians we are commanded to help those who are in need. Let’s start by not making their problems worse.

You Can Help

Yes, some of the damage has been done and cannot be undone, but we can take steps to prevent climate change from happening as rapidly as some models predict. By ourselves we can’t make an impact, but, if we work together, with God’s help we can make a difference. The Bible teaches us to live modestly. If we have a home and vehicle that is appropriately sized for our needs (not super-sized as the world says we need), then the amount of carbon produced to heat, cool,and run our home and car will be less. You don’t even need to drive a hybrid—some of the small cars actually get better gas mileage and cost a lot less to start with. (And you would not believe the gas mileage a bicycle gets!)

We can also invest in efficiency. Compact fluorescent light bulbs may cost more initially, but will actually pay for themselves several times over with electricity you didn’t have to buy. My church is planning a massive renovation, most of which will be completely unseen because few people look at the heating and air-conditioning system. Our current system is over 30 years old and dying. By replacing it with a new energy-efficient system and improving the insulation in our church we’re hoping to save hundreds of dollars a month. When we reduce our carbon footprint, we also reduce the amount of money we spend on energy, whether it is electricity, natural gas or gasoline.

One more thing we can do is vote. Just as reducing our individual carbon footprint also helps us in other ways, national policies to reduce carbon emissions will also benefit our country in ways seemingly unrelated to climate change. Voting for candidates who support these changes is another way to help.

A Silver Lining

Climate change has, and will, put more people in need. We are called to minister to those who are in need, and, in doing so, we may also see the lost saved. We are told that “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Proverbs 20:11). Imagine the witness a church would be if it opened its doors during a heat wave for people to come in and cool off, or sent a team to respond to disasters like Katrina. Eco-adaptive missionaries could go to the impoverished countries hardest hit by climate change¹ to help the people adapt and in doing so also spread the glorious truth of Jesus.

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John D. Trombley is a third-year Ph.D. student in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Miami University in Oxford, OH, and one day hopes to teach at a small collage. He is a Sunday School teacher and A/V operator at his church, as well as a Kentucky Colonel.

End Notes

1. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html

2. http://www.climatecrisis.net/