Climate change – ho hum boring; that is until the reservoirs dry up and we are faced with drought. “That’s not going to happen” according to President Trump and our Government. The latter pay lip service to the problem but for various reasons (all well founded you understand) find it inconvenient to do anything about it at the present time.
One or two things have happened. There was the decision to bring back the termination date for burning peat fuel in the generation of electricity from 2030 to 2025. And cars don’t emit as much dangerous gasses as they once did – a welcome measure enforced on us by the EC. However, as a country, we are nowhere near our target for the reduction of co2 gasses.
This week President Higgins, speaking at the 55th BT Young Scientists and Technology Exhibition in the RDS, reckoned our future was safe in the hands of the students who entered such enterprising projects. The event covered a wide variety of subjects in its 550 entries. Climate Change was well represented forming the subject of 88 of them.
The Environmental Protection Agency has reported a speeding up of the Global Warming process. Six of the ten warmest years in Ireland have occurred since 1990. This has happened alongside a reduction of frost and an increase in rainfall. The most likely outcomes of all this are flooding of rivers and increase in sea levels. Simultaneously there will be water shortages caused by excessive periods of heat.
Ever since Adam was a gardener who chose to rebel against his Maker and incurred, among other things, the penalty of banishment from paradise and a cursed earth (Genesis Chapter 3 verses 17/19) man’s responsibility has been one of stewardship “the earth he has given to man” (Psalm 115 verse 16).
As often happens in scripture whenever there is judgement pronounced there is a promise of a way of escape also given. “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease (Genesis Chapter 8 verse 22). This means day will follow night. One season will follow another. The world will continue to function predictably according to God’s design. This is the grace of God upon all His creation.
But not forever! “As long as the earth endures” looks to the climax of earth’s redemption, achieved by Jesus on the cross and being worked out in time for both the earth and humankind (Romans Chapter 8 verses 20/25).
Isaiah was given a glimpse of this redemption and recorded it in Chapter 65 verses 17 to 25.
Until God’s new creation comes (Revelation Chapter 21 verses 1 to 4) we face the challenges presented by climate change etc. in the confident certainty for every believer in Jesus that a glorious future awaits them. So remember these texts Believer when you are coping with flood or famine – the best is yet to come!