Is Global Warming A Real Threat?

As an American you have the right to deny the reality of global warming. 

You have the right to consider it a liberal conspiracy to subvert the profit margins of the big oil companies. 

You have the right to believe those who claim global warming is the brainchild of tree huggers and green fanatics.

You have the right to believe that global warming is some sort of Liberal conspiracy. 

You have the right to believe that the warming of our planet is cyclical.

You have the right to believe a presidential candidate who blames the whole idea of global warming on the Chinese. 

You have the right to stick your head in the sand and pretend that global warming is not real. That's your choice.

You also have the right to ignore some of our most knowledgeable climate scientists who continue to provide us with compelling evidence supporting the notion that we may be headed towards an irreversible global crisis. 

That’s your right. I get it.

But I have rights too.

I prefer to listen to knowledgeable scientists (as opposed to ignorant politicians or business profiteers) who are telling us another story, who are offering us a counter narrative with regards to the reality of global warming. 

I choose not to ignore the signs that our planet is in deep trouble: rising temperatures, intensifying storms and droughts, extreme weather patterns, melting glaciers, the melting of the earth’s polar ice caps causing rising sea levels, extreme weather patterns, and the pollution of our rivers with deadly toxins that have seeped into our water supplies (e.g., Flint, MI). 

And let's not overlook the massive quantity of scientific evidence pointing to global warming sitting right at our Google search fingertips.

I prefer to ignore those naysayers who debunk the notion of global warming by turning it into a political issue. 

When I witness a presidential candidate clearly demonstrating his profound ignorance on the subject of global warming I fear for the future of our planet.

So I have also chosen to listen to modern day prophets who are ringing the warning bell in hopes that we all will listen before it is too late, that we boldly set aside our political persuasions long enough to hear what they are really saying to us, that we educate ourselves on climate issues by reading good books and scientific articles available to us.

In response to the call of Pope Francis for us all to hear “the cry of the earth and the poor” author and activist Brian D. McLaren warns with prophetic clarity:

“Even the rich will eventually see their money party coming to an end as turmoil spreads within and among the nations until civilization as we know it becomes increasingly insecure and the whole system goes staggering, catastrophe by catastrophe, toward collapse. Whether it ends with a big bang of war or a pathetic whimper of slow decline, the extractive and consumptive way of life that we have created will not stand.”

In another words: Our lifestyle cannot sustain the future of our planet. Period!

Therefore I am exercising my right to believe that global warming is indeed a real threat to our way of life and to the lives of our children and grandchildren as well as to the future of our beloved planet. 

Our future hangs in the balance.

The future of our life-sustaining planet hangs in the balance.

We are being called to look beyond the bubble of our tight little comfortable worlds and see the bigger picture of an earth in travail. 

You and I can exercise our right to believe whomever or whatever we wish regarding the issue of global warming but we must realize that our decision will have a great impact on the future of Mother Earth.

Note: I would recommend the following resources for anyone interested in learning more about Global warming, from a theological perspective: Brian D. McLaren, Everything Must Change: When the World's Biggest Problems and Jesus' Good News Collide (2009) and The Great Spiritual Migration (2016), chapter 8, “Salvation from the Suicide Machine.” Also from a science perspective: Lester R. Brown, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (Substantially Revised 2009).