Literally Drowning in NYC

"We've got only a few decades to save the world: Somewhere between 2030 and 2050, if current trends persist, atmospheric CO2 levels will hit 500 parts per million, temperatures will rise 2 degrees, and the Greenland ice cap will begin turning to slush, causing sea levels to rise 20 feet."

http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/magazine/15-10/ff_plant_renew

I'm not a doomsday environmentalist. I don't think that the entire world as we know it will be utterly destroyed because of some environmental response to pollution. I've watched The Day After Tomorrow, and I think it is good fiction...but fiction nonetheless. However, this recent Wired article got me thinking.

A couple of years ago, I decided to research hydrogen technology for my senior thesis in high school. Hydrogen intrigues me because it is a clean energy source. You don't have to be the premiere environmental PH.D. in the world to realize that releasing billions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere probably isn't a good thing. As I researched what was happening to the environment, I heard more and more about the coming disaster. One of the things that I discovered was that the Arctic Icecap was melting at an unprecedented rate. Satellite images of the last 30 years show a dramatic decrease of ice. Now Wired seems to be saying that this theory is justified. At the time, I wasn't completely sold, but was far more sympathetic to the argument than my surrounding Christian community. They were still in the state of disbelief.

I think that today, some Christians still don't think anything of Al Gore's cries to save the environment. But it seems that a growing number are responding. If it is true that the ocean would rise even a meter (as another article I recently read said would happen...and there's nothing we could do to stop it), then that is going to affect dramatic portions of the world. A rise of 20 feet of the sea level would effectively eliminate Manhattan. What should be the Christians's response?

First, whether or not we believe such a catastrophic event will take place, we should think about what The Creation Mandate says. As humans, we are to take dominion over the earth; to care for it and subdue it. The world is certainly being subdued. But Christians must ask themselves, what ought we do to care for God's earth? If this issue came to the forefront of second century Christians, I'm sure there would be an apathetic attitude by many, for the Gnostic heresy had quite a foothold and so people believed that matter was evil. Why ought they care about the earth?

American Christian evangelicals, with their lack of focus on the four-part gospel, means that many Christians forget (or do not know) that the world will be renewed at the end of time. They see that there is a sinful world, and that Jesus came to save people and take them to Heaven...end of story. I admit, that's a bit of a straw man, but you get my jist. Instead, Christians ought to focus on a four-part gospel: God created a good world, it was corrupted by man's Fall because of sin, Jesus came to redeem mankind, and Jesus is coming again to make all things right and make all things new! Because the earth will not pass away but be renewed, it is important. So instead of abandoning it, we ought to cultivate it as we were made to do.

Second, Christians should not entirely dismiss the idea of rising oceans. Suppose it was going to take place, albeit over the course of many years. As Christians ought to have a heart for people, and the rising water will put people into a worse situation, Christians should be concerned at plan appropriately to lead relief efforts. Imagine Katrina on a global scale. If we are the hands and feet of Jesus, we should bring healing and life like He did.

Third, Christians should do what they can to not pollute the atmosphere. Personally, I would love to get a hybrid vehicle. Not only does it help the environment, but it saves money that is normally spent on gas! It is worth investing thought into what can be done.

I hope I haven't seemed obsessively concerned about environment. As with all things in life, there needs to be balance. From my attempts in the past, I have discovered that finding and articulating where exactly a Christian's mindset should be regarding the environment is not easy. But maybe, if nothing else, my post will cause you to put some thought into the topic.

Taking Every Thought Captive,

Zachary