'What Happened to Global Warming?,' The BBC Asks

Scientists disagree over whether the recent cooling is just a temporary dip or whether it is a long-term trend.

SUMMARY: The year 1998 was the warmest year recorded globally, but in the last 11 years no increase in global temperatures has taken place. Climate models did not forecast this, even though man-made carbon dioxide, the gas thought to be responsible for warming our planet, has continued to rise.

Climate change skeptics say they saw this trend coming. They argue that natural cycles over which we have no control determine how warm the planet is. They say the warming over the last few decades of the 20th century was due to the sun's energy increasing. Some 98% of the earth's warmth comes from the sun.

Some research two years ago seemed to rule out solar influences, because scientists could not connect solar output and cosmic ray intensity with global average surface temperatures. However, solar scientist Piers Corbyn claims solar charged particles are almost entirely responsible for global temperatures. He plans to present his findings at a scientific conference in London at the end of the month.

What's happening to our oceans is really interesting. Research by Professor Don Easterbrook from Western Washington U. shows that ocean temperatures and global temperatures are correlated. The oceans have a cycle of warming and then cooling. For much of the 1980s and 1990s they were in a warmer cycle along with global temperatures. Now they are cooling. These cycles in the past have lasted nearly 30 years which leads Prof. Easterbrook to predict about 30 years of global cooling.

But those supporting the idea of global warming and man's influence on it say their climate models have incorporated solar variation and ocean cycles and that there are a whole host of known factors that influence global temperatures. Even though there may be periods of cooling, the long-term trend is clearly up, they claim. So predictions of future climate vary. Skeptics think global temperatures will not likely get back to the 1998 highs until 2030 at the earliest. The other side thinks at least half the years from 2010 to 2015 will be even hotter than 1998.

To read the entire article click on this link to the BBC.

COMMENT: Unlike in the debates over evolution and abortion, for instance, there may be room for Bible-based Christians on either side of the climate-change arguments. The Bible is silent on this issue, if I am not mistaken.

Nevertheless we can learn some lessons from these clashes among scientists over global warming. First, science is not the unimpeachable behemoth it is sometimes made out to be. This lesson especially applies to the evolution/creation debate. If scientists with all their tools can't agree on what is happening to our present weather or what will happen in the near future, can we trust their opinions on what supposedly happened millions and billions of years ago when nobody was around?

Secondly, whether the climate warms up or cools down, we know the One who created this earth, the sun, and the oceans is still very involved in what is going on. God sometimes may let people suffer from their mistakes, but, for the Christian believer, nothing evil will happen to him unless God has a very good reason.

Thirdly, even if we may be a climate change skeptic, we should still study the suggestions of those who believe in global warming. Some of their ideas, such as using renewable energy and driving more fuel-efficient cars, may make sense whether there is global warming or not. God wants us to be good stewards of his planet until the time comes when the present earth will pass away. Then believers in Jesus Christ as Savior will not need to have the slightest concern about the climate because they will be in heaven where there will be an eternally perfect environment.

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QUESTION OF THE DAY

What service is a new company called Better Place about to offer?

Networks of service stations and charging spots for electric cars. The company has plans to build more than 20,000 charging spots in California and have them running by 2012. More charging spots means it is more practical to invest in electric cars. (Picture: Reva electric car, 2008, from Wikimedia Commons)

Source: Parade (October 11, 2009)