Unless you’ve been living in a world without any form of media, entertainment, or human contact for the past 20 years you’ve probably been informed in a myriad of ways that the earth’s climate is changing, and not for the better.
It seems that humankind is doomed to drown under the rising sea, be scorched by rising temperatures, or be swept away by powerful superstorms unless privileged human beings stop indulging in their selfish fossil fueled lifestyles.
To be honest, the only thing that seems obvious to me is that we must be living in the last days for an article to even have to address this as a “serious discussion”.
As a born again Christian who believes that the Bible contains the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, I’m well aware God informed humankind that in the last days not only will the earth’s spiritual climate change (apostasy), the earth’s meteorological climate will also change as well.
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:25-26).
Jesus warned us that the judgment of the Tribulation will come upon the earth as labor pains come upon a woman about to deliver a child, a steady progression from bad to worse, from mild to major.
It is obvious that something has a powerful effect on the earth’s meteorological climate. Earth’s climate has been enduring cyclical changes long before the invention of the internal combustion engine. Chemical examination of glacial ice and ancient tree samples clearly show that the earth has gone through differing periods of cooling and warming throughout various cycles of time.
These days, the greatest debate among many earth dwellers is not so much ifthe earth’s climate changing, it’s what is responsible for the change if indeed there is any change occurring at all.
Many argue that human activity is the primary contributing factor driving climate change through carbon emissions thereby causing a steady increase in global temperatures, otherwise known as “global warming”.
The results of a study that examined scientific consensus on climate change published by the American Geophysical Union in 2009, found that over 97 percent of scientists surveyed believe that human activity is a significant contributing factor in causes global warming [1].
Solidarity like that in the scientific community leaves little room for others, including scientists, to present alternative explanations as to why the earth’s climate experiences changes.
One particularly outspoken proponent of the man-made climate change charge (besides the Pope) is Leonardo DiCaprio. The “king of the world” recently spoke at the “South by South Lawn” festival at the White House alongside President Obama.
DiCaprio, who says that the scientific consensus about the dangers of climate change is in and “the argument is now over” went on to say:
“If you do not believe in climate change, you do not believe in facts or in science or empirical truths. And therefore, in my humble opinion, (you) should not be allowed to hold public office.” [2]
Well Mr. DiCaprio, this article will now boldly dive into “science,” “facts” and “empirical truths”—if you happen to be reading, which is highly unlikely but, here goes anyway…
A very plausible alternative to the effect of the “power” of mankind is the effect of the power of the sun. A simple examination of the sun’s impact during seasonal changes provides significant evidence of the power it has over the earth’s climate.
Currently the earth’s axis is tilted 23.5 degrees from the plane of its orbit around the sun. The degree of tilt stays the same as the earth orbits the sun, with a complete orbit occurring every 365.256 days.
Due to the tilt of earth’s axis, the northern hemisphere is closest and farthest from the sun at specific points during the earth’s orbit every year. It is at these specific points that the start of summer or winter will occur.
The beginning of summer coincides with the longest day of the year, on or about June 21st in the northern hemisphere and is known as the summer solstice.
Likewise, the beginning of winter coincides with the shortest day and the longest night of the year, which occurs between December 21st and 23rd in the northern hemisphere and is known as the Winter solstice.
In reference to the seasons of the northern hemisphere, you could say that the North Pole is tilting toward the sun in summer and away from the sun in winter. Of course, the opposite is true for the southern hemisphere but the same principle applies.
Interestingly, due to the elliptical orbit of earth around the sun, summer in the northern hemisphere actually occurs when the earth itself is farthest from the sun (aphelion) and winter occurs when it is closest (perihelion). However it is the tilt of earth’s axis along its orbit that causes the seasons.
Earth’s axis is neither tilted away or toward the sun during the equinoxes, which occur in September and March, thereby resulting in milder temperatures.
The distance that either hemisphere fluctuates toward or away from the sun during the summer and winter solstices can cause great effects on the earth’s climate throughout the year. It’s astounding that such a small a fluctuation in the earth’s distance from the sun can wreak such havoc on the weather.
Again, earth’s hemispheres do not actually tilt back and forth because the degree of tilt of the earth’s axis is fixed. It is the position of the hemisphere in relation to the position of earth along its orbit around the sun that causes seasonal changes.
To shed a little “light” on just how minuscule the distance is that the earth’s hemispheres fluctuate toward and away from the sun during the course of a year, let’s look at some scientific facts.
The total distance from the earth to the sun is approx. 93,000,000 miles. The equatorial diameter of earth is approx. 8,000 miles. The equatorial diameter is equivalent to taking the distance from one side of the earth at its widest point, the equator, and measuring straight through to the opposite side of the earth at the equator.
The total distance that the North Pole leans on its axis in any one direction toward or away from the sun depending upon earth’s position in orbit cannot be greater than the total distance of the equatorial diameter of the earth. Hopefully this is making sense so far.
To calculate what percentage the distance of the earth’s equatorial diameter is in comparison to earth’s total distance from the sun we have to divide the equatorial diameter by the distance from the sun:
8,000 miles / 93,000,000 miles = .00008602
In a nutshell that means that the total distance the North Pole fluctuates to and from the sun during the course of a year is only .0086 percent of the total distance that exists between the earth and the sun.
Or, in other words, the distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 11,625 times greater than the change in distance between the northern hemisphere and the sun during the course of one year.
Temperatures on earth often vary greatly amongst the different climate or “temperate” zones, based solely upon variations in the sun’s angle above the horizon.
There can be as much as a 100 degree difference in temperature based solely upon the temperate zone during the same season in the same hemisphere. Think Fairbanks, Alaska compared to Miami, Florida for instance.
The following is a recorded example of temperature difference based solely upon temperate zone: At 2:40 PM on October 4, 2016 the temperature in Baie-Comeau, Quebec was 52 degrees Fahrenheit under sunny skies. The temperature in Centro, Mexico was 90 degrees Fahrenheit at 1:40 PM local time on the same day under partly cloudy skies.
That’s a temperate difference of approximately 40 degrees at nearly the same time of day under mostly sunny skies based solely upon the temperate zone each temperature was recorded in.
Many say that carbon emissions have a greater impact on earth’s weather than the sun itself. They say that carbon emissions have the ability to cause earth’s temperature to rise a few degrees at the most.
Yet every year on earth seasonal changes cause more impact on earth’s temperatures than the purported impact of all carbon emissions combined.
The human caused climate change argument is based entirely upon heating, the small rise in temperature that throws the rest of the weather off balance thereby causing much greater temperature fluctuations and weather extremes.
However, the tremendous power that the sun has over the earth is literally felt by all of the animal kingdom on a daily basis. (As a side note, this article is not in any way condoning the worship of the sun. Worshipping the Creator of the sun should be far more logical to anyone tempted by such foolishness!)
The power of the sun can be observed during a solar eclipse. In a matter of seconds birds will go back to their nests, cows will go back to their barns, and temperatures will drop as much as 15 degrees or more in dry conditions, and all of this in a matter of seconds.
Another interesting example of the power of the sun can be lifted from the details of a presentation given by a group of astronomers during the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, Wales in July 2015. [3]
The international group of scientists said that diminishing solar activity may bring about a new ice age by 2030. An intriguing article describes the presentation made by the astronomers and it is a very interesting read. [4] As an example, here is a direct quote from the article:
Dr Helen Popova responds cautiously, while speaking about the human influence on climate:
There is no strong evidence, that global warming is caused by human activity. The study of deuterium in the Antarctic showed that there were five global warmings and four Ice Ages for the past 400 thousand years. People first appeared on the Earth about 60 thousand years ago. However, even if human activities influence the climate, we can say, that the Sun with the new minimum gives humanity more time or a second chance to reduce their industrial emissions and to prepare, when the Sun will return to normal activity.
Of course believers in biblical creation take issue with the timeline that Dr Popova presents but, as stated at the beginning of this article, the evidence preserved within glaciers and trees still shows that the earth has been experiencing cyclical global warming and cooling periods long before man achieved mechanical advantage through the burning of fossil fuels. (Read the article for reference. [4]
Another interesting twist on the power of the sun can be found in a study published by NASA scientists from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies in August 2016. The study suggested that the planet Venus may have been habitable in ancient times.
The NASA scientists used the same computer models that they use to predict future climate change on earth. The most interesting part of the article is that the scientists believe that the ancient sun that was up to 30 percent dimmer than it is today.
Think about that, their entire study was based upon the fact that a less powerful sun of the past could have allowed for the planet Venus to support life. So then it stands to reason that they must believe that the sun is now growing in power as time goes on. Astounding…
The power of the sun has been affecting the temperatures on earth tens of degrees every season and every year for thousands of years. Knowing this, isn’t it far more plausible that an increase in solar activity can have a far greater impact on earth’s weather than carbon emissions or bovine flatology?
Since a large number of human beings have a major problem with things they can’t control they are easily deceived into following concocted schemes designed by others to create the illusion of control.
The only Man who ever lived on earth that has control over the power of the sun is the Son of God Himself:
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25-27).
Endnotes
[1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009EO030002/epdf
[2] http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/10/05/leonardo-dicaprio-climate-change-deniers-shouldnt-be-allowed-hold-public-office
[3] http://nam2015.org/
[4] https://astronomynow.com/2015/07/17/diminishing-solar-activity-may-bring-new-ice-age-by-2030/
[5] http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-climate-modeling-suggests-venus-may-have-been-habitable