The Bible, Christians, and the Environment
By COGwriter
How should Christians view the environment? Does the Bible give any clues?
What are some of the effects of air, water, and land pollution?
Does the Bible have warnings for those that are destroying the Earth?
This article will answer those questions. Here is a link to a related sermon: Christians and the Environment (there is also YouTube video available titled Air Pollution, Autism, and Prophecy).
In the Beginning, God Intended Humankind to Care for the Environment
As far as how Christians should view the environment, going to the book of Genesis is a good place to start.
Notice:
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (Genesis 2:15)
Humans were to be stewards over God's creation.
Now notice else about it:
24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind"; and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29 And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. (Genesis 1:24-31)
Pollution, which harms the creation, is not good.
Scriputre also states:
33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are … (Numbers 35:33)
Some of the Effects of Pollution
Pollution causes all kinds of problems.
But many could be prevented. For example, notice a sanitary law from the Bible:
12 "Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; 13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you. (Deuteronomy 23:12-14)
If the above was followed, human waste would be turned into soil. This in turn could be used as fertilizer to improve the natural production of agricultural products, such as fruits and vegetables.
While proper waste disposal would seem to be 'common-sense,' societies have poured human waste into streams, lakes, rivers, and seas for thousands of years. This problem is still so serious that death by diarrhea that is often caused by consuming water contaminated by human waste. It is a significant cause of death in developing countries and is the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide.
When thinking of pollution air and water pollution come to mind.
Modern chemically-dependant society is causing severe problems never before encountered until recent times.
When I used to live in Fresno, California, I remember driving down to Los Angeles and noticing the highly polluted air between the two. And while I was viewing that, I heard a famous radio personality claim that humans were too insignificant to damage the planet via pollution. Apparently, he did not have eyes to see.
Consider, also, some of the human health problems caused by air pollution:
March 25, 2014
(CNN) — An estimated 7 million people died due to air pollution globally in 2012, with more than half of the deaths linked to indoor smoke from cook stoves, according to a report by the World Health Organization.
Air pollution is now the “single largest environmental health risk,” the U.N. health agency stated in the report. The majority of the deaths associated with air pollution were heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/who-air-pollution-deaths/
GENEVA — The World Health Organization reports air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk. A new report finds seven million people died from exposure to air pollution in 2012, more than double the number previously estimated in 2008.
Air pollution is a global problem; the World Health Organization reports one in eight people around the world die from air pollution. http://www.voanews.com/content/millions-die-every-year-from-air-pollution/1878179.html
January 22, 2104
Study: Chinese Exports Linked to US Pollution…according to a team of U.S. and Chinese researchers, the smog made in China does not stay there. Findings of their work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicate the pollution is drifting across the Pacific Ocean and clouding air in the United States.
Focusing on 2006, the study finds that export industries produce one-third of China’s sulfur dioxide, one-fourth of its nitrogen oxides, one-fourth of its carbon monoxide, and one-sixth of its black carbon…
Using atmospheric models, the researchers determined that as much as a quarter of the sulfur dioxide polluting the air over the western United States that year came from China.
California Air Resources Board officials say the Los Angeles area had 120 excessive-ozone days in 2006, of which, atmospheric models indicate, Chinese pollution contributed to two extra days…But the pollution did not stop at the West Coast. Chinese emissions also added two non-compliant days in Chicago and the surrounding areas, which had fewer than 10 in 2006, and regions on the East Coast were affected as well.
http://www.voanews.com/content/study-shows-chinese-exports-linked-to-us-pollution/1835603.html
For those who think that Chinese pollution is a problem limited to Chinese air and water, that is not truly so. India has the highest death rate from air pollution. Furthermore, polluted Chinese rivers flow into the ocean, and thus affect everyone. Furthermore, polluted Chinese air directly affects neighboring countries in Asia, such as South Korea and Japan (see also China’s smog choking Japan). In addition, I recall seeing a report some time back that if Chinese air pollution continued growing at the rate it had been that the West Coast of the USA would have unhealthy particulate pollution levels just from what comes across the the ocean from China, even if there was no human caused pollution in California, for example. The threat from Chinese air pollution is that serious.
It is also been reported that air pollution may increase rates of crime:
16 April 2019
Emerging studies show that air pollution is linked to impaired judgement, mental health problems, poorer performance in school and most worryingly perhaps, higher levels of crime. ...
Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people per year. But could we soon add murder figures into this too? ...
The research, led by Jackson Lu of MIT examined nine years of data and covering almost the entire US in over 9,000 cities. It found that “air pollution predicted six major categories of crime”, including manslaughter, rape, robbery, stealing cars theft and assault. The cities highest in pollution also had the highest crime rates. This was another correlational study, but it accounted for factors like population, employment levels, age and gender – and pollution was still the main predictor of increased crime levels.
Further evidence comes from a study of “delinquent behaviour” (including cheating, truancy, stealing, vandalism and substance use) in over 682 adolescents. Diana Younan, of the University of Southern California, and colleagues looked specifically at PM2.5 – tiny particles 30 times smaller than the width of a human hair – and considered the cumulative effect of exposure to these pollutants over a period of 12 years. Once again, the bad behaviour was significantly more likely in areas with greater pollution. ...
It’s also clear that exposure to various pollutants can cause inflammation in the brain and can damage brain structure and neural connections. “So what could be happening is that these air pollutants are damaging the pre-frontal lobe,” says Younan. This is the very area important for controlling our impulses, our executive function and self-control.
Besides elevating crime, that might also bring about a serious decline in mental health. A March 2019 study even showed that teenagers exposed to toxic, polluted air are at a higher risk of psychotic episodes, such as hearing voices or paranoia. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190415-how-air-pollution-is-doing-more-than-killing-us?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Water pollution is a big problem as well.
Jan 09, 2013
To drink or not to drink? That is the question for Beijing residents, according to water quality expert Zhao Feihong.
Her answer: No. She advises anyone who can afford it to switch to bottled water, claiming it is a safer alternative.
“I have not drunk tap water for 20 years,” said Zhao, a researcher on drinking water at the Beijing Healthcare Association. “The capital’s water has gotten more polluted in recent years.”
Many of her friends and relatives also shun tap water because of health concerns, she said.
“In the past we used to drink directly from Miyun Reservoir (on the outskirts of the city), which was built in 1958 and is one of the largest in North China,” she said. “The water quality at the reservoir at that time was on a par with Germany, which has strict standards for surface water. But not now.” http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epaper/2013-01/09/content_16098958.htm
Jan 08, 2013
SHANGHAI – The seepage of chemicals into a river connecting two northern Chinese provinces is the latest accident to highlight the country’s serious water-pollution problem and to raise doubts about whether the authorities acted quickly to raise the alarm.
Nearly 40 tonnes of a chemical compound called aniline used in manufacturing and agriculture leaked into a disused reservoir and a local river in Shanxi province after a pipe burst late last month, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.
Almost a quarter of that amount moved into the Zhouzhang River and flowed east towards neighbouring Hebei province, prompting the authorities in one city to cut off drinking water and those elsewhere to go on alert…
Water pollution is a serious problem in China, with rubbish blamed for clogging dams, refineries for damaging marine life and fertilisers for ruining aquifers. Acute shortages of water through much of the country have been worsened by industrial accidents and often slow reporting by polluters. http://www.todayonline.com/World/China/EDC130108-0000016/Chemical-spill-highlights-Chinas-water-pollution-problem
The oceans are so vast and deep that until fairly recently, it was widely assumed that no matter how much trash and chemicals humans dumped into them, the effects would be negligible. Proponents of dumping in the oceans even had a catchphrase: "The solution to pollution is dilution."
Today, we need look no further than the New Jersey-size dead zone that forms each summer in the Mississippi River Delta, or the thousand-mile-wide swath of decomposing plastic in the northern Pacific Ocean to see that this "dilution" policy has helped place a once flourishing ocean ecosystem on the brink of collapse.
Pollution's Many Forms
There is evidence that the oceans have suffered at the hands of mankind for millennia, as far back as Roman times. But recent studies show that degradation, particularly of shoreline areas, has accelerated dramatically in the past three centuries as industrial discharge and runoff from farms and coastal cities has increased.
Pollution is the introduction of harmful contaminants that are outside the norm for a given ecosystem. Common man-made pollutants that reach the ocean include pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, detergents, oil, sewage, plastics, and other solids. Many of these pollutants collect at the ocean's depths, where they are consumed by small marine organisms and introduced into the global food chain. Scientists are even discovering that pharmaceuticals ingested by humans but not fully processed by our bodies are eventually ending up in the fish we eat.
Many ocean pollutants are released into the environment far upstream from coastlines. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers applied by farmers inland, for example, end up in local streams, rivers, and groundwater and are eventually deposited in estuaries, bays, and deltas. These excess nutrients can spawn massive blooms of algae that rob the water of oxygen, leaving areas where little or no marine life can exist. Scientists have counted some 400 such dead zones around the world.
Solid waste like bags, foam, and other items dumped into the oceans from land or by ships at sea are frequently consumed, with often fatal effects, by marine mammals, fish, and birds that mistake it for food. Discarded fishing nets drift for years, ensnaring fish and mammals. In certain regions, ocean currents corral trillions of decomposing plastic items and other trash into gigantic, swirling garbage patches. One in the North Pacific, known as the Pacific Trash Vortex, is estimated to be the size of Texas. A new, massive patch was discovered in the Atlantic Ocean in early 2010. (Marine Pollution. National Geographic. http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-marine-pollution/ viewed 03/26/14)
Worldwide, water and air pollution are big problems. They did not originate in China, but China's problems in the 21st century related to it are becoming more and more obvious.
It should be mentioned that UN objectives, Papal encyclicals, and the Paris accords are NOT going to solve the pollution problems of the world.
Having hopes is one thing, succeeding is another.
Notice the following related to the USA and the UK:
Tens of thousands of Americans die every year from old-fashioned air pollution, generated by electric power plants that burn fossil fuels. Estimates vary, but between 7,500 and 52,000 people in the United States meet early deaths because of small particles resulting from power plant emissions. That’s huge. It is roughly comparable to the 40,000 people that died in car crashes in 2016. …
In England they found that “cleaning the air to the level of cleanliness enjoyed by the area with the best air [in the U.K.] would mean a 40 percent drop in the bronchitis death rate among males.” Male and female results were about the same. Since few women worked in industry in those days, this finding indicated that the effect was independent of occupational exposure. https://futurism.com/air-pollution-kills-thousands-year/
As far as particulate matter goes, back in the 1990s I personally did a fair amount of research related to particulate matter in the air in California in conjunction with my Ph.D. program.
And, of course, it is not only the USA and UK that have problems with pollution.
The problem of pollution is a big one worldwide:
Study: Pollution kills 9 million a year, costs $4.6 trillion
22 October 2017
NEW DELHI — Environmental pollution — from filthy air to contaminated water — is killing more people every year than all war and violence in the world. More than smoking, hunger or natural disasters. More than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
One out of every six premature deaths in the world in 2015 — about 9 million — could be attributed to disease from toxic exposure, according to a major study released Thursday in the Lancet medical journal. The financial cost from pollution-related death, sickness and welfare is equally massive, the report says, costing some $4.6 trillion in annual losses — or about 6.2 percent of the global economy.
“There’s been a lot of study of pollution, but it’s never received the resources or level of attention as, say, AIDS or climate change,” said epidemiologist Philip Landrigan, dean of global health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, and the lead author of the report.
The report marks the first attempt to pull together data on disease and death caused by all forms of pollution combined.
“Pollution is a massive problem that people aren’t seeing because they’re looking at scattered bits of it,” Landrigan said.
Experts say the 9 million premature deaths the study found was just a partial estimate, and the number of people killed by pollution is undoubtedly higher and will be quantified once more research is done and new methods of assessing harmful impacts are developed. http://www.phillytrib.com/news/study-pollution-kills-million-a-year-costs-trillion/article_2bc05b47-4396-5558-81d9-9f4abdf08eb2.html
A recent report found that in Italy, China, Russia, and India, there is believed to be an under-reporting of ‘greenhouse’ gas emissions (see BBC: Questionable data on ‘greenhouse’ gas levels). Enough so, that the Paris Accords essentially will be of little, if any, value.
Notice also the following:
February 19, 2021
The majority of scientists classify global warming as the increase in the Earth’s surface temperature. This temperature rise is what causes climate change. ...
Animals have become extinct, sea levels have risen, and glaciers have shrunk. After discovering the effect humans were having on the planet, scientists have since predicted that climate change would result in what we’re now experiencing. These include more intense heat waves that last for more extended periods, accelerated seal levels rising, as well as the loss of sea ice. ...
Glaciers have shrunk in size while ice sheets have also diminished. However, this ice doesn’t evaporate into the air. Instead, it becomes water and adds to the ocean. As a result, more water collects in the seas, which increases the sea level. ...
When looking at the bigger picture, this carbon pollution is also changing the chemistry of the ocean. It’s doing this by slowing the ocean’s ability to uptake carbon dioxide. As a result of this, ocean acidification is taking place, which harms shellfish and other marine organisms that depend on the ocean remaining as a more alkaline solution.
However, this rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is also driving up the ocean’s surface temperatures. Thus, ocean warming is taking place and leading to harmful environments for marine life to survive in. ...
When looking at the bigger picture, warmer temperatures are directly shortening the time snow is present on the ground. This is specifically evident in the Northern Hemisphere.
In addition to this, climate change from global warming also plays a role in reducing snowfall. This limits the amount of snow present before spring melts are even present. The increase in the Earth’s surface temperature is also shortening the snow cover seasons. ...
The economic impact that extreme weather has is one measure showing that climate change is affecting the number of extreme events the world is currently experiencing. This is shown as the number of billion-dollar extreme events is increasing drastically. There are many different extreme events that are known to be influenced by climate change. These include tropical storms and floods.
From extensive research and studies, scientists have been led to believe that climate change has the ability to worsen the impacts, intensity, and frequency of many different extreme weather events. ...
The risk of wildfires is dependent on a variety of factors, including the presence of shrubs, trees, and other potential fuel, soil moisture, and temperature. With that being said, all of these variables have strong indirect and direct links to climate change and climate variability. ...
Research has found that warmer ocean temperatures and higher sea levels are directly causing hurricanes to become more frequent and intense. ...
Warmer sea surface temperatures are linked to intensifying tropical storm wind speeds, which have the ability to deliver more damage once these hurricanes make landfall. In addition to this, sea level rise is also said to make future coastal storms, such as hurricanes, costlier and more damaging. ...
Extreme precipitation events have caused more rainfall to occur. In addition to this, increased rainfall has also become more frequent. Many scientists believe this trend to continue as the Earth’s surface temperature continues to warm. ...
It’s no secret that hot days across the globe are getting more frequent and hotter while we’re experiencing fewer colder days. From this, heat waves are becoming more and more common and even more intense. These temperatures are increasing as greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere are becoming more potent. A recent study has reached the assumption that the annual number of days that have a heat index of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit are said to double in the future. ...
Warmer surface temperatures increase evaporation from the soil, which makes periods that receive low precipitation drier than if these areas were under cooler conditions. ...
In addition to this, changing climates also alters atmospheric rivers. These atmospheric rivers are classified as narrow streams of moisture that are transported in the atmosphere. This creates the risk of disrupting precipitation patterns. https://www.tomorrow.io/weather/blog/global-warming-status/
The United Nations, Vatican, and various others tend to believe that pollution is a cause of ‘climate change.’ Many think that the true cause is the burning of fossil fuels. While the burning of almost anything, including fossil fuels affects air quality, many do not seem to be able to conceive of the idea that pollution problems could be a curse from God for things like the LGBTQ agenda, pornography, and other aspects of immorality (for some details as to why that can be relevant, check out the article Weather Blessings and Sorrows).
Many believe/suspect that wealth redistribution and other social goals are what is really why people are concerned about pollution. And they can point to Pope Francis’ Laudato Si and the United Nations’ ‘New Universal Agenda’ as proof of this, as they include aspects of wealth distribution and social policy not directly related to environmental issues.
Despite the political and social goals many have, pollution really is a problem.
Yet, most will not consider that pollution could be related to disobeying God’s laws (ten of which are discussed in the free online book: The Ten Commandments: The Decalogue, Christianity, and the Beast).
Humans are not properly tending the Earth. They are destroying it And they will be judged for it:
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18)
Pollution, which tends to be caused by greed and/or ignorance (which is not always intentional), is destroying the Earth. Notice that it will take the return of Jesus to save the planet.
Plastic Pollution of the Oceans
More and more plastic trash is being dumped into the world's oceans:
February 13, 2015
The world's oceans are clogged with plastic debris, but how much of it finds its way into the seas annually? Enough to place the equivalent of five grocery bags full of plastic trash on every foot (30 cm) of every nation's coastline around the globe. That's according to scientists who released research on Thursday estimating that a staggering 8 million metric tones of plastic pollution enter the oceans each year from the world's 192 coastal countries based on 2010 data. http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-china-responsible-30-of-ocean-plastic-pollution-every-year-2060591
WASHINGTON—The world's oceans are clogged with plastic debris, but how much of it finds its way into the seas annually? Enough to place the equivalent of five grocery bags full of plastic trash on every foot (30 centimeters) of every nation's coastline around the globe.
That's according to scientists who released research Thursday estimating that a staggering 8 million metric tons of plastic pollution enters the oceans each year from the world's 192 coastal countries, based on 2010 data.
Based on rising waste levels, they estimated that more than 9 million tons would end up in the oceans in 2015.
Experts have sounded the alarm in recent years over how plastic pollution is killing huge numbers of seabirds, marine mammals, sea turtles and other creatures while sullying ocean ecosystems.
China was responsible for the most ocean plastic pollution per year with an estimated 2.4 million tons, about 30 percent of the global total, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria and Bangladesh.
The United States was the only rich industrialized nation in the top 20, and it ranked No. 20. Coastal EU nations combined would rank 18th.
The trash encompasses just about anything imaginable made of plastic, including shopping bags, bottles, toys, food wrappers, fishing gear, cigarette filters, sunglasses, buckets and toilet seats.
"In short, you name it and it is probably somewhere in the marine environment,'' said Kara Lavender Law, a research professor of oceanography with the Massachusetts-based Sea Education Association.
The estimates were based on information including World Bank data for trash generated per person in all nations with a coastline, coastal population density, the amount of plastic waste countries produce and the quality of their waste-management practices.
"I think this is a wake-up call for how much waste we produce,'' said University of Georgia environmental engineering professor Jenna Jambeck.
The researchers calculated that 275 million tons of plastic waste was generated in the 192 coastal countries in 2010, with an estimated 8 million tons entering the ocean and a possible range of 4.8 million to 12.7 million tons.
"The most pressing need is to capture plastic waste to prevent it from entering the environment,'' Law said. "This means investing in waste management infrastructure, especially in those countries with rapidly developing economies. http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-plastic-trash-world-oceans/2641684.html
The amount of plastic refuse being dumped in the oceans is both staggering and harmful.
Notice also the following:
Once waterborne, debris becomes mobile. Flotsam can be blown by the wind, or follow the flow of ocean currents, often ending up in the middle of oceanic gyres where currents are weakest. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is one such example of this, comprising a vast region of the North Pacific Ocean rich with anthropogenic wastes. Estimated to be double the size of Texas, the area contains more than 3 million tons of plastic. The gyre contains approximately six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton. The oceans may contain as much as one hundred million tons of plastic. Islands situated within gyres frequently have coastlines flooded by waste that washes ashore; prime examples are Midway and Hawaii. (Marine Debris. Wikipedia, viewed 02/13/15)
May 16, 2019
- About 14 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. Some scientists estimate that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in oceans worldwide.
- In a new study, scientists tallied the amount of plastics and microplastics that have accumulated on an archipelago in the Indian Ocean called the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
- The researchers estimated that 414 million pieces of man-made debris — pieces of plastic, foam, metal, and glass — have accumulated across the archipelago, with a total weight of 262 tons.
- About 25% of that pollution was determined to be single-use plastics like straws, food packaging, and bottles, which pose a grave threat to marine life, particularly whales.
There are more pieces of plastic in the ocean than stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Pieces of plastic have been found in every corner of the ocean, from the deepest part of the Mariana Trench to the Arctic Circle.
https://www.businessinsider.com/plastic-in-oceans-414-million-pieces-trash-pacific-islands-2019-5
No one should put plastic trash in the oceans.
Pollution affects the environment and also has affects on the weather.
The US is being singled out for not pushing harder against plastic pollution:
US accused of blocking ambitious global action against plastic pollution
Commitments agreed at UN conference in Kenya do not go far enough, say green groups
15 March 2019
Environmental groups involved in talks at a United Nations conference in Kenya have accused the US of blocking an ambitious global response to plastic pollution.
Representatives of countries at the UN environment conference in Nairobi this week agreed to significantly reduce single-use plastics over the next decade but the voluntary pledges fell far short of what was required, according to green groups. ...
“It’s hard to find one solution for all member states,” Siim Kiisler, the president of the UN environment assembly, told Agence France-Presse before the final decision. “The environment is at a turning point. We don’t need verbose documents, we need concrete commitments.”
When asked whether the US had pushed to have the commitments watered down during the week’s negotiations, Kiisler said: “I will not answer that question.”
David Azoulay, from the Center for International Environmental Law, condemned the weakening of the commitment.
He said: “The vast majority of countries came together to develop a vision for the future of global plastic governance. Seeing the US, guided by the interests of the fracking and petrochemical industry, leading efforts to sabotage that vision is disheartening.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/mar/15/us-accused-of-blocking-ambitious-global-action-against-plastic-pollution-un-conference-environment
Another major international pollution agreement has the backing of nearly all nations but the USA:
May 11, 2019
GENEVA (AP) — Nearly every country in the world has agreed upon a legally binding framework to reduce the pollution from plastic waste except for the United States, U.N. environmental officials say.
An agreement on tracking thousands of types of plastic waste emerged Friday at the end of a two-week meeting of U.N.-backed conventions on plastic waste and toxic, hazardous chemicals.
Discarded plastic clutters pristine land, floats in huge masses in oceansand rivers and entangles wildlife, sometimes with deadly results.
Rolph Payet of the United Nations Environment Program said the “historic” agreement linked to the 186-country, U.N.-supported Basel Convention means that countries will have to monitor and track the movements of plastic waste outside their borders. ...
The framework “is historic in the sense that it is legally binding,” Payet said. “They (the countries) have managed to use an existing international instrument to put in place those measures.” https://www.apnews.com/75c3a8a91c1f48f6ae54e9d055506834
Almost every country in the world, except the United States, agreed to a deal on Friday that would sharply reduce the amount of plastic being washed into the world's oceans.
The legally binding framework for reducing plastic waste means countries will have to monitor and track thousands of types of plastic waste outside their borders.
The deal was struck after 1,400 representatives met for 12 days of discussions at a United Nations Environment Program meeting in Geneva. The deal essentially updates the 1989 Basel Convention on the control of hazardous waste to include plastic. ...
IPEN umbrella group science adviser Sara Brosche said: "For far too long developed countries like the US and Canada have been exporting their mixed toxic plastic wastes to developing Asian countries claiming it would be recycled in the receiving country. Instead, much of this contaminated mixed waste cannot be recycled and is instead dumped or burned, or finds its way into the ocean." ...
Plastic waste in the sea is set to increase tenfold and with current trends, by 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in the oceans. 05/10/19
Once again, the US is being singled out for not supporting international environmental policies. This will be held against the US in the future and may be part of the justification that some will have to eliminate the US in the future (cf. Daniel 11:39).
Extinction of Species
More species are expected to become extinct:
Planetary Collapse Threatens Our Survival: A New Study Says That More Than 1,200 Species “Will Almost Certainly Face Extinction”
We are witnessing a worldwide environmental collapse, and nobody seems to know how to stop it. … a study that was just released that looked at more than 5,000 species of birds, mammals and amphibians discovered that nearly a quarter of them “will almost certainly face extinction”. …
According to this new study, over 1,200 species will soon be extinct unless dramatic action is taken. The following comes from the Guardian…
More than 1,200 species globally face threats to their survival in more than 90% of their habitat and “will almost certainly face extinction” without conservation intervention, according to new research.
Scientists working with Australia’s University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society have mapped threats faced by 5,457 species of birds, mammals and amphibians to determine which parts of a species’ habitat range are most affected by known drivers of biodiversity loss.
Once these species are gone, they will be gone forever.
And remember, this study from Australia only included larger creatures such as birds, mammals and amphibians. The situation is far more dire when we look at what is happening to the insect world. …
Our planet is literally dying, and there is only a very, very limited amount of time to do anything about it.
Meanwhile, western civilization is dying as well. … Time is running out for our exceedingly vacuous society. We are literally destroying ourselves and everything around us, and here in the western world we have completely lost our values. http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/planetary-collapse-threatens-our-survival-a-new-study-says-that-more-than-1200-species-will-almost-certainly-face-extinction retrieved 03/15/19
Yes, there is a major crisis in values and that is part of why we are seeing declines and extinctions of various species.
The UN increased the number of species at risk in the next several decades to "about a million" in May 2019.
Yes, physical survival is at risk as Jesus prophesied “unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved” (Mark 13:20).
As far as the insect world goes, see the post: BBC: Global insect decline may see ‘plague of pests’.
The United Nations held a meeting in March 2019 in Kenya on the environment. Here is a report related to that:
March 13, 2019
Nairobi, Kenya Mother Earth got a bad health report from the United Nations this week, and the scientific team that conducted the exam didn’t shirk from delivering the bad news. The word “dire” comes to mind.
The assessment is contained in the sixth Global Environmental Outlook, a 708-page compendium of the planet’s ailments that was released at a U.N. environmental conference here this week. The Earth’s condition has continued to deteriorate since the first global outlook was prepared in 1997 and “urgent action at an unprecedented scale necessary to arrest and reverse this situation,” the team warned.
“The science is clear,” Joyce Msuya, acting executive director of U.N. Environment, said in a briefing. “The health and prosperity of humanity is directly tied with the state of our environment.”
She added the planet stands at a crossroads: the Earth’s ailments are treatable, but not for a lot longer if people don’t make fundamental changes in what they consume, how they create energy, dispose of waste, and generally decrease the human footprint that is degrading air, water, and land. …
Overall, the Earth suffers from land degradation; biodiversity loss; air, land and water pollution; and the effects of climate change—and must prevent and manage further risks and disasters. Without changes, the situation looks bleak for all of its inhabitants. A major extinction event is underway, compromising the globe’s “ability to meet human needs,” the report warns.
Biodiversity helps regulate climate, filters air and water, forms soil, and mitigates the effects of natural disasters, the team explains. Yet, populations of species are declining and extinction rates are rising. Presently, 42 percent of land-based invertebrates, 34 percent of freshwater invertebrates, and 25 percent of marine invertebrates are at risk for extinction. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/03/un-healthy-planet-report-environment/
Yes, change is needed.
Yet, the changes that the politicized climate change advocates are proposing will not stop this.
While pollution reductions are always a good thing, the societal agenda that the United Nations, Vatican, World Council of Churches, etc. tie in with their environmental plans will not work.r food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. (Genesis 1:24-31)
The Continuing Church of God has the following sermon at its ContinuingCOG channel related to the environment:
1:11:07
Christians and the Environment
How should Christians view the environment? Does the Bible give any clues? Did God make the earth good? Does the Bible give clues to prevent environmental problems? What are some of the effects of air, water, and land pollution? What will happen to the earth? How will Christians be involved? Does the Bible have warnings for those that are destroying the Earth?Dr. Thiel addresses these and other points.
Here is a link to the sermon: Christians and the Environment.
However, some religious leaders have essentially gone so far as to promote their ‘climate change’ agendas as a real gospel, but that is false. We made the following videos:
This false gospel is one that does not involve repentance towards God, does not require accepting Jesus as the only name under heaven by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12), nor does it embrace “the faith once delivered to the saints.”
Notice also the following video on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:
The Bible also shows that the globalists will not fix the planet. The Bible shows that Jesus will have to some to destroy the world's end time leaders as they will have been actually destroying the earth:
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18)
Despite having great goals like reducing pollution and helping the earth, the opposite will happen.
The Bible teaches:
1
Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain. (Psalm 127:1)
Leaving the true God out of the pictures, which is what nearly all the most vocal 'climate change activists' do, will not lead to a real solution.
Here is how the climate could be fixed:
3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. (Leviticus 26:3-6)
Yes, there is a biblical solution to climate change, but world leaders have overlooked that.
But, people will heed God and His ways during the millennial Kingdom of God.
Until the arrival of that Kingdom all human beings should strive to obey God while being careful about waste and pollution. And all should also pray for God’s kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).
The Bible does reveal that there is a solution to pollution.
The UN, Vatican, and others are promoting a worldly view that without repentance, but through international cooperation of unconverted leaders, the world will be able to solve its problems.
While trying to pollute less is a proper goal, the Bible shows that what the UN and others are working towards will not succeed.
Twice the Bible warns:
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25)
The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
What should Christians do about it?
Christians are in the world (John 17:11, but not of it (John 17:14). We do not have to live as hermits outside the world as we are to be lights for the world (Matthew 5:14-16). This, from a practical perspective, means that while we will drive cars, etc., we do not intentionally cause excessive pollution and we obey God's laws.
But most humans refuse to do so. The situation on the Earth is going to be so bad that unless God intervened, humans would have destroyed all human flesh:
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)
As Christians, something Jesus instructed us to do that appears related to the spiritual and physical pollution in the world, is to pray:
9 Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10)
20 He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly."
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
The time for Jesus' return and the establishment of the Kingdom of God is getting nearer.
In the 20th century, more began to be realized about modern chemicals and pollution:
We are dosing the environment with materials that poison virtually everything. Some of these poisons are extremely persistent and are absolutely everywhere!
Changing Climate
One of the main things that we are doing is changing the climate of the planet. We are accelerating climatic changes in all sorts of ways. The cli-mate of the planet depends primarily on the heat balance, the balance between incoming and outgoing solar radiation. Adding carbon dioxide to the atmo-sphere, which we have been doing at a merry rate since about 1870 ·by burning fossil fuels, tends to warm the entire planet. The average temperature rose considerably until about 1940, and then the trend reversed. We now have a cooling trend which most meteorologists blame on the amount of particulate pol-lution that has been added to the atmosphere. Pollution is now absolutely world-wide. There has been a 35% increase in the particulate pollution over Mauna Loa, on the Island of Hawaii. There is a veil of pollution that covers the entire planet.
(Ehrlich P. Our Environmental Crisis. Plain Truth magazine, June-July 1970)
Now, this does not mean that many have not politicized and even faked climate change data for improper goals. But the reality is that many poisons have affected the environment and are factors in the loss of species--and pollution has become an increasing problem worldwide--with sins of various types being the real cause. Humans need to live God's way to correct this, but since they have refused for about 6,000 years (see also Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End?), we have increasing pollution and other problems.
Christians should try to pollute less and waste less. We should not litter. We should pick up after ourselves. We should try to insure our plastic trash does not blow into waterways or on the land. We should try to avoid, or minimize, the use of synthetic chemicals where it is feasible. And yes, we can separate trash for recycling, as well as try to reuse items instead of throwing them away and replacing them. We should live as Christian pacifists--human wars have long been a factor in pollution and destruction and this will get worse. We should live as Jesus and strive not to sin, while we look forward to, and teach, about the coming Kingdom of God.
Birds and Bees and Bugs
There are reports of problems with populations of birds and bees around the world.
Here is one about blackbirds:
July 5, 2014
Bob Meese...has spent the last decade studying the tri-colored blackbird, which once numbered in the millions.
The decline, Meese says, is unprecedented based on surveys coordinated by him and his team at the University of California, Davis.
In 2008, the state was home to 400,000 tri-colored blackbirds. Today, there are only 145,000 - a 64 percent loss in just six years.
"There are parts of the state where the birds seem to be disappearing altogether," Meese said.
Meese is now catching the birds so he can tag them and track their movements. He believes the birds' natural habitats are being increasingly turned into farmland and vineyards, which rely on pesticides that kill off the very insects they feast on.
"If they do not have enough insects in their diet, they simply cannot form eggs," Meese said.
So Meese is trying to convince growers to give up pesticides
"The blackbirds could act as a natural insecticide," Meese said. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-blackbird-population-at-grave-risk/
The tri-colored blackbird population was noted as being in decline in the 1980s, and steps were taken in the 1990s. The population started to go back up, but according to the report above, they have declined significantly in the past six years. Dramatic drops in bird populations should be a concern.
There are also concerns about the loss of bees in certain parts of the world.
The rate of deaths of bees has increased in the USA and is putting the food supply at risk of decimation. Here is a report from May 2014:
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health report they’ve found two widely utilized insecticides, of a class known as neonicotinoids, apparently cause significant harm to the colonies during the winter, and the colder the winter the greater the harm.
The phenomenon of dying bees in their hives has been given the name CCD, for Colony Collapse Disorder
The insecticides can cause bees to forsake their hives in winter, leading to their eventual death, the researchers said in their study published in the Bulletin of Insectology.
The researchers focused on honeybee colonies at locations in Massachusetts in the winter of 2012-13, monitoring 18 colonies for exposure to the insecticides and the eventual fate of each.
“We demonstrated again in this study that neonicotinoids are highly likely to be responsible for triggering CCD in honeybee hives that were healthy prior to the arrival of winter,” said lead author Chensheng (Alex) Lu, an expert on environmental exposure effects in biology.
Bees are the prime pollinators for around a third of most crops around the world, with some estimates putting that figure at 80 percent for crops in the United States, making CCD and its resulting significant depletion of honeybees a concern, the researchers say. http://www.techtimes.com/articles/6798/20140510/pesticides-and-colder-winters-triggered-collapse-of-honeybee-colonies.htm
The UK has a similar problem and some of the chemicals that have been implicated in killing bees are produced by Syngenta, a company big in the production of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). In June 2014, US President Obama ordered an investigation into the loss of bees.
The USA and UK are at risk of food shortages if the bee situation gets much worse. The effects of GMOs, pesticides, and agricultural chemicals are more complicated than many realize, and this study related to bees helps demonstrate this.
Some have called this decimation a ‘bee apocalypse’–and that could very well be a step towards the real apocalypse and the start of the Great Tribulation of Matthew 24:21.
But, why be so concerned about bees? Basically because bees are necessary for the pollenization of many plants that humans eat. Losing bees could be devastating.
Overall, humans need bees much more that bees physically need humans. Bees are necessary for the pollenization of many plants that humans eat. Wikipedia states:
It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated European honey bee.
One third of human food possibly being dependent upon bees is a significant percentage. Losing half the bees could be devastating--and a report that 80% are an issue should be a concern.
Between the widespread and growing use of genetically modified (GMO) “foods,” pesticides, herbicides, and synthesized sweeteners, countries like the USA and UK are putting themselves at risk for the famines which are certain to come. Losing bees perhaps should be a sign that things are beginning to worsen.
Other flying bugs are also being affected:
Flying Insect Numbers Fall by 75 Percent, Threatening ‘Ecological Armageddon’
October 19, 2017
The total number of flying insects in protected areas in Germany has dropped by over 75 percent in the past 27 years. Scientists noted the major decline of bees, butterflies, moths and other winged creatures across 63 key areas and said it could not be explained by changes to habitat or weather, instead speculating that widespread pesticide use may be to blame. …
T
heir findings showed that between 1989 and 2016, total flying insect biomass had fallen by 76 percent. At some points in mid-summer, the number fell by as much as 82 percent. “This decrease has long been suspected but has turned out to be more severe than previously thought,” Hallmann said in a statement.
Analysis showed there was not one main contributing factor that could explain the decline seen across the study areas—including changes to land use, weather and habitat.
“The decline in insect biomass, being evident throughout the growing season, and irrespective of habitat type or landscape configuration, suggests large-scale factors must be involved,” the team wrote. “While some temporal changes in climatic variables in our study area have taken place, these either were not of influence (e.g. wind speed), or changed in a manner that should have increased insect biomass (e.g. temperature).” …
One of the study authors, Dave Goulson, from the University of Sussex, U.K., said the rates of loss recorded are not sustainable. “Insects make up about two thirds of all life on Earth,” he said. “We appear to be making vast tracts of land inhospitable to most forms of life, and are currently on course for ecological Armageddon. On current trajectory, our grandchildren will inherit a profoundly impoverished world.”
The above news report was based on a new study. Here is a its abstract, followed by a link to the study:
Abstract
Global declines in insects have sparked wide interest among scientists, politicians, and the general public. Loss of insect diversity and abundance is expected to provoke cascading effects on food webs and to jeopardize ecosystem services. Our understanding of the extent and underlying causes of this decline is based on the abundance of single species or taxonomic groups only, rather than changes in insect biomass which is more relevant for ecological functioning. Here, we used a standardized protocol to measure total insect biomass using Malaise traps, deployed over 27 years in 63 nature protection areas in Germany (96 unique location-year combinations) to infer on the status and trend of local entomofauna. Our analysis estimates a seasonal decline of 76%, and mid-summer decline of 82% in flying insect biomass over the 27 years of study. We show that this decline is apparent regardless of habitat type, while changes in weather, land use, and habitat characteristics cannot explain this overall decline. This yet unrecognized loss of insect biomass must be taken into account in evaluating declines in abundance of species depending on insects as a food source, and ecosystem functioning in the European landscape. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809
Notice also the following two items:
Not long ago, a lengthy drive on a hot day wouldn’t be complete without scraping bug guts off a windshield. But splattered insects have gone the way of the Chevy Nova — you just don’t see them on the road like you used to.
Biologists call this the windshield phenomenon. It’s a symptom, they say, of a vanishing population.
“For those of us who look, I think all of us are disturbed and all of us are seeing fewer insects,” said Scott Black, executive director of the Portland, Ore.-based Xerces Society, a nonprofit environmental group that promotes insect conservation. “On warm summer nights you used to see them around streetlights.” …
Though some missing insects may be pests — bloodsuckers or crop-eaters — plenty of insects are productive members of a healthy ecosystem. (Even mosquitoes play a vital role as food sources for fish and other animals.) In 2006, Losey and fellow Cornell entomologist Mace Vaughan estimated that wild insects provide $57 billion worth of custodial services in the United States each year. They bury animal dung, prey on pests and pollinate plants.
“If you like to eat nutritious fruits and vegetables, you should thank an insect. If you like salmon, you can thank a tiny fly that the salmon eat when they’re young,” Black said. “The whole fabric of our planet is built on plants and insects and the relationship between the two.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/10/18/this-is-very-alarming-flying-insects-vanish-from-nature-preserves/?utm_term=.2e17bf646f45
The EPA reports that “pesticide poisoning” is a likely cause of bee colony collapse as pesticides and herbicides like Roundup, as well as others known as systemic neonicotinoid insecticides, weaken the bees’ immune system. https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/tell-home-depot-and-lowe-s-to-stop-carrying-roundup-and-similar-pesticides
Insects have positive roles--pollution is affecting them.
At some time, famine will come to the USA and UK and many will die from it:
15 ‘So it shall be a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations that are all around you, when I execute judgments among you in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken. 16 When I send against them the terrible arrows of famine which shall be for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, I will increase the famine upon you and cut off your supply of bread. 17 So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the Lord, have spoken.’ (Ezekiel 5:15-17)
The environment does matter.
What About Autism and Pollution?
Autism seems to be affected by our modern polluted society.
Notice the following:
November 27, 2012
Children with autism are two to three times more likely than other children to have been exposed to car exhaust, smog, and other air pollutants during their earliest days, according to a new study.
That new research adds to a mounting body of evidence that shows a link between early-life exposure to pollution and autism spectrum disorders…
“We’re not saying that air pollution causes autism. We’re saying it may be a risk factor for autism,” says Heather Volk, lead author on the new study and an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California…In particular, she says, genetic differences may leave some children more susceptible than others to the effects of damaging environmental stimuli such as air pollutants.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/27/autism-and-air-pollution-the-link-grows-stronger/#ixzz2DQqWwoK8
While I do not believe that air pollution is the only cause of autism, it certainly is a risk factor. Humans, in general, have been too willing to pollute the environment, including the air, water, ground, and food supply. There are consequences to those and other behaviors (Galatians 6:7-8; Romans 1:18-32).
Notice the following news report:
February 14, 2014
Experts are calling for a targeted strategy to restrict the use of toxic industrial chemicals, which they say are causing a “silent pandemic” of brain disorders in children worldwide. Scientists are urging action as more so-called neurotoxins have been identified but remain largely unregulated.
A rise in the number of pediatric brain disorders, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, cerebral palsy and autism, may be the result of increased use of unregulated toxic chemicals around the world.
In the past seven years, researchers have identified six new chemicals that have been shown to be capable of damaging the brains of developing human fetuses and young children. The discovery brings to twelve the number of confirmed neurotoxins. Experts estimate one in six children worldwide suffers from a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Pediatrician Philip Landrigan, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said exposure to neurotoxic chemicals was a serious problem that has reached pandemic proportions.
“Injury to the human brain in early life leads to problems like loss of IQ, shortening of attention span, behavioral problems. And these effects by and large tend to be permanent,” he said.
Pouring over scientific literature and hundreds of studies, Landrigan, along with the University of Southern Denmark’s Phillipe Grandjean, found the number of chemicals suspected of causing neurodevelopmental problems in children has also risen, from 202 to 214. They said there were some 80,000 industrial chemicals in widespread use which have never been tested for safety.
The toxins include fire retardants used in mattresses, draperies, carpets, clothing and toys, and solvents in cleaning agents.
The researchers are calling on countries to pass strong laws requiring companies to test chemicals before they may be marketed, as is required of all new drugs. http://www.voanews.com/content/toxic-chemicals-blamed-for-silent-pandemic-of-brain-disorders-in-children/1852000.html
Urban areas are toxic as are many rural areas. Diet and other factors can worsen this and likely increase the risk for autism. Even synthetic vitamins, like folic acid (which is ALWAYS synthetic), has been linked to autism by Johns Hopkins, a respected medical research facility.
The widespread and growing use of genetically modified (GMO) “foods,” pesticides, herbicides, synthetic vitamins, combined with air and other environmental pollution, including exposure to huge amounts of plastics, etc. puts a toxic load on the human body that seems to increase the risk for autism.
What About "Climate Change"?
Many believe that humans are contributing to something called "climate change." Many of the same people used to call this "global warming," but since the weather is colder in some areas than it has been, they have tended to side with the term "climate change."
Can human activities affect the climate?
Well, certainly they can on a micro-level. Planting a lot of trees in barron areas tends to increase rainfall, whereas removing a lot of trees can have the opposite effects.
What about fossil fuels? Certainly burning a lot of anything can affect things.
But what if the real cause is sin?
The Bible shows that God uses weather matters, including high heat (Revelation 16:8-9) and what is often called climate change today (Amos 4:4-9) to encourage repentance and obedience to Him (Haggai 2:17).
Many do not wish to consider this, but consider the following:
7 "I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered. 8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the Lord.
9 "I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the Lord.
10 "I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the Lord.
11 "I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the Lord.
12 "Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!"
13 For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth — The Lord God of hosts is His name. (Amos 4:7-13)
Before the time of the Great Tribulation, Jesus said:
8
And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. (Mark 13:8)
And there have been troubles.
The Bible tells of weather-related blessings for obedience and weather-related curses for disobedience. Weather is not as random as many people seem to want to believe.
Back in 2009, my book, 2012 and the Rise of the Secret Sect, I wrote that the following was about to happen:
| Odd weather patterns result in food shortages and natural disasters. |
Matthew 24:7 |
| The world is actually in a berserk transition, as the real age of peace is not yet here. It may be a period of chaos. It is the beginning of sorrows. |
Matthew 24:8 |
Record heat and odd weather problems should serve as a wake-up call. More on weather can be found in the article Weather Blessings and Sorrows.
Why did I write that?
Because Jesus said:
7 . . . And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. (Matthew 24:7-8)
We now seem to be in the time that Jesus referred to as "the beginning of sorrows." The "the beginning of sorrows" comes just before, the Great Tribulation (see also When Will the Great Tribulation Begin?).
United Nations and Pope Francis
Instead of looking to the Kingdom of God, and the millennial reign of Jesus Christ to fix the climate, many world and religious leaders look to the United Nations and international cooperation to solve the climate and other issues on planet Earth.
This appeals to many.
Pope Francis even gave the keynote address to the United Nations in 2015 the day it adopted the another environmental plan--he also applauded the approval:
September 25, 2015
UNITED NATIONS (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – World leaders on Friday adopted the most sweeping agenda ever of global goals to combat poverty, inequality and climate change, capping years of debate and saying now is the time for “a little less conversation, a little more action.”Described by the United Nations secretary-general as “a to-do list for people and planet,” the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, are to be implemented over the next 15 years with a big global push to win public and political support.
The 193 U.N. member nations formally adopted the goals in the shadow of the worst refugee crisis since World War II, calling for shared peace and prosperity.
Pope Francis called the adoption of the SDGs “an important sign of hope.”
“Solemn commitments, however, are not enough, even though they are a necessary step toward solutions,” said the Pope as the Vatican flag flew for the first time outside the United Nations where security was heightened for his visit.
He said world leaders must follow through with “a will which is effective, practical, constant, with concrete steps and immediate measures” to protect the environment and end social and economic exclusion. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/26/us-development-goals-adoption-idUSKCN0RP2FL20150926.
Here is some of the UN's adopted goals:
- Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
- Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
- Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
- Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
- Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
While many consider that this is good news, this is a false gospel (see also United Nations: Humankind's Last Hope or New World Order?). Of course, it will fail--(even though the time for a temporal peace deal will come per Daniel 9:27; see also The 'Peace Deal' of Daniel 9:27). Even the UN declared above that its earlier "Millennium Development Goals" did not succeed. The difference now is that we have seen changes in the world as well as a pontiff who is more directly involved in endorsing this.
As far as Pope Francis goes, he basically laid much of this out in his encyclical titled Laudato Si. Here are some of his statements:
6. My predecessor Benedict XVI likewise proposed “eliminating the structural causes of the dysfunctions of the world economy and correcting models of growth which have proved incapable of ensuring respect for the environment”.[10] He observed that the world cannot be analyzed by isolating only one of its aspects, since “the book of nature is one and indivisible”, and includes the environment, life, sexuality, the family, social relations, and so forth. It follows that “the deterioration of nature is closely connected to the culture which shapes human coexistence”. …
7. These statements of the Popes echo the reflections of numerous scientists, philosophers, theologians and civic groups, all of which have enriched the Church’s thinking on these questions. Outside the Catholic Church, other Churches and Christian communities – and other religions as well – have expressed deep concern and offered valuable reflections on issues which all of us find disturbing. To give just one striking example, I would mention the statements made by the beloved Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, with whom we share the hope of full ecclesial communion.
8. Patriarch Bartholomew has spoken in particular of the need for each of us to repent of the ways we have harmed the planet, for “inasmuch as we all generate small ecological damage”, we are called to acknowledge “our contribution, smaller or greater, to the disfigurement and destruction of creation”. …
9. At the same time, Bartholomew has drawn attention to the ethical and spiritual roots of environmental problems, which require that we look for solutions not only in technology but in a change of humanity; otherwise we would be dealing merely with symptoms. He asks us to replace consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with a spirit of sharing, an asceticism which “entails learning to give, and not simply to give up. It is a way of loving, of moving gradually away from what I want to what God’s world needs. It is liberation from fear, greed and compulsion”. …
18. The continued acceleration of changes affecting humanity and the planet is coupled today with a more intensified pace of life and work which might be called “rapidification”. Although change is part of the working of complex systems, the speed with which human activity has developed contrasts with the naturally slow pace of biological evolution. …
20. Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths. People take sick, for example, from breathing high levels of smoke from fuels used in cooking or heating. There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general. Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others. …
21. Account must also be taken of the pollution produced by residue, including dangerous waste present in different areas. Each year hundreds of millions of tons of waste are generated, much of it non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, from homes and businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from clinical, electronic and industrial sources.
While many people would prefer to believe otherwise, humanity is not going to solve the issues of climate, but instead bring the planet to the point of destruction (Matthew 24:21-22).
We Christians are not to live like the world which has no real hope (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13), but improperly trusts in itself. We have the hope that Jesus will return and fix the environment that 'international cooperation' will not.
USA Called A 'Rogue Nation'
Before US President Donald Trump took office, I wrote and had the following published:
Donald Trump’s view of climate change is expected to set up some type of issue between the USA and Europe. Europe will tend to see the USA as an irresponsible polluter of the planet, while Europe will claim to be the protector that the world needs. (Thiel B. Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse. Nazarene Books, 2017)
This is in the process of being confirmed. Notice:
February 1, 2017
Faced with a U.S. retreat from international efforts to tackle climate change, European Union officials are looking to China, fearing a leadership vacuum will embolden those within the bloc seeking to slow the fight against global warming.
While U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to act on campaign pledges to pull out of the 2015 Paris accord to cut greenhouse gas emissions, his swift action in other areas has sparked sharp words from usually measured EU bureaucrats.
When Trump’s former environment adviser, until the president’s inauguration this month, took to a stage in Brussels on Wednesday and called climate experts “urban imperialists”, a rebuke from Britain’s former energy minister drew applause from the crowd packed with EU officials. …
‘WE LOST A MAJOR ALLY’
China’s partnership with former U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration helped get nearly 200 countries to support the Paris climate change pact in 2015.
That agreement, which looks to limit the rise in average global temperature to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels, entered into force late last year, binding nations that ratified to draft national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But despite Beijing’s green policy drive, propelled by domestic anger over smog and the environmental devastation wrought by rapid economic growth, some EU officials are skeptical it can pull as much weight as the United States on climate issues.
“We will make a lot of noises (about allying with China), but let’s be honest we lost an ally – a major one,” a senior EU energy diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-eu-climatechange-idUSKBN15G5B3
The Trump Administration position on ‘climate change’ upset the Europeans at the latest G20 conference (see Trump, Germany, China, and G20).
Furthermore, because of at least two of Donald Trump's executive orders, the USA is being called a rogue nation:
Trump’s attack on the climate will fail, spectacularly
President Donald Trump’s most recent assault on the environment not only makes the US into a rogue state on climate change. It will also fail in its goal to create jobs and stimulate the economy, says DW’s Sonya Diehn.
29 March 2017
US President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to pander to a tiny constituency – aside from being a thinly veiled gift to the fossil fuel industry – is bound to fail.
In a PR event on Tuesday, Trump stood flanked by coal miners and climate-denying Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt as he announced his latest assault on global environmental security.
Not only does Trump’s executive order deny the existence of climate change, it also rejects the existence of well-documented risks resulting from our changing climate
What, then, will be the result of this executive order?
Step toward self-destruction
Trump’s executive order reversing the climate protections introduced by former President Barack Obama will stand as another milestone in a gradually failing administration.
Just as Trump demonstrated a lack of knowledge, negotiating skills and general competency in the dramatic failure of Trumpcare last week, so too will this executive order ultimately act to undermine the administration.
Even if it does salvage some coal jobs, this won’t outweigh missed opportunities in the renewables sector. It’s a round conclusion that the US turning its back on the development of renewable energy will set the country back economically. …
China and the European Union will now have to take the lead, as they’ve already been doing. …
Where will this story end? http://www.dw.com/en/opinion-trumps-attack-on-the-climate-will-fail-spectacularly/a-38184209
28 March 2017
The US is becoming a “rogue state” as it backslides on hard-fought global pact, say international observers http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/28/trump-reneges-on-us-climate-pledge-but-stays-in-paris-agreement/
March 28, 2017
Trump’s executive order puts the world on the road to climate catastrophe
It’s so egregious, it no longer really matters if he doesn’t formally opt out of the Paris climate deal. ...
This is not politics as usual. The irreversible consequences of Trump’s actions would rank as one of the most tragic blunders of all time. ...
But far more importantly, this order makes America a rogue nation in the global fight to save the climate, comparable to Vladimir Putin’s Russia. ...
America is not just the second-biggest annual carbon polluter, but we are the biggest cumulative source of CO2 over the past century and the richest country in the world. https://thinkprogress.org/trumps-executive-order-on-climate-just-turned-the-u-s-into-a-rogue-nation-6bf6cccbda91
30 March 2017
ROME, March 30 (Reuters) - The Vatican urged U.S. President Donald Trump to listen to "dissenting voices" and reconsider his position on climate change on Thursday, saying the United States risked being supplanted by China as leader in environmental protection.
Pope Francis has made defense of the environment a key plank of his papacy, strongly backing scientific opinion that global warming is caused mostly by human activity. https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/03/30/vatican-urges-trump-to-reconsider-his-stance-on-climate-change/22018621/
This will end with the Europeans turning against its 'friend':
1 How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies. (Lamentations 1:1-2)
The Europeans will take over the USA per Daniel 11:39. If more and more consider the USA to be a rogue nation, it will be easier to persuade more to support the takeover. Climate positions of the USA may be something that will be used to justify the takeover. Watch also The USA Declared a 'Rogue Nation'!
This will happen, even though they do not think that they want to:
5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation.
6 I will send him against an ungodly nation,
And against the people of My wrath
I will give him charge,
To seize the spoil, to take the prey,
And to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
7 Yet he does not mean so,
Nor does his heart think so;
But it is in his heart to destroy,
And cut off not a few nations.
8 For he says,
'Are not my princes altogether kings?
9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?
10 As my hand has found the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose carved images excelled those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
11 As I have done to Samaria and her idols,
Shall I not do also to Jerusalem and her idols?'" (Isaiah 10:5-11)
More on the Assyria can be found in the articles Germany's Assyrian Roots Throughout History and Germany in Biblical Prophecy. More on Samaria in the articles Anglo - America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel and Spiritual Samaritans: Old and New.
Rising Sea Levels?
Scientists reportedly have figured out what planet Earth will be like in 100 years and 10,000 years:
February 8, 2016
A large group of climate scientists has made a bracing statement in the journal Nature Climate Change, arguing that we are mistaken if we think global warming is only a matter of the next 100 years or so — in fact, they say, we are locking in changes that will play out over as many as 10,000 years. …
“It’s a statement of worry,” said Raymond Pierrehumbert, a geoscientist at Oxford University and one of the study’s authors. “And actually, most of us who have worked both on paleoclimate and the future have been terrified by the idea of doubling or quadrupling CO2 right from the get-go.”
“In hundreds of years from now, people will look back and say, ‘yeah, the sea level is rising, it will continue to rise, we live with a constant rise of sea level because of these people 200 years ago that used coal, and oil, and gas,’” said Anders Levermann, a sea level rise expert at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and one of the paper’s authors. “If you just look at this, it’s stunning that we can make such a long-lasting impact that has the same magnitude as the ice ages.”
The key reason for this is that carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for a very long time before being slowly removed again by natural processes. “A considerable fraction of the carbon emitted to date and in the next 100 years will remain in the atmosphere for tens to hundreds of thousands of years,” the study noted. Meanwhile, the planet’s sea levels adjust gradually to its rising temperature over thousands of years.
So what will the world look like in 10,000 years, thanks to us? That really depends on what we do in the next few hundred years with the fossil fuels to which we have relatively easy access. … In 10,000 years, if we totally let it rip, the planet could ultimately be an astonishing 7 degrees Celsius warmer on average and feature seas 52 meters (170 feet) higher than they are now. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/02/08/what-the-earth-will-be-like-in-10000-years-according-to-scientists/
Are these scientists right on some or any of this? Is humanity about to be plagued by rising sea levels? If so, will this remain a problem for 10,000 years?
What does the Bible teach?
The Bible does tell of a time of high heat and rising sea levels. Notice the following two prophecies:
12 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place (Revelation 6:12-14).
17 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. 19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great (Revelation 16:17-21).
However, as pointed out above, massive earthquakes, not CO2 emissions will be the cause. It is not that air pollution is not a concern, as it very may well be a factor in rising ocean levels, but it is not THE cause that will really affect sea levels like various scientists claim.
Notice what is foretold in the writings of Jeremiah and Haggai:
41 Oh, how the praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! 42 The sea has come up over Babylon; She is covered with the multitude of its waves. 43 Her cities are a desolation, A dry land and a wilderness, A land where no one dwells, Through which no son of man passes. 44 I will punish Bel in Babylon, And I will bring out of his mouth what he has swallowed; And the nations shall not stream to him anymore. Yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall. 45 “My people, go out of the midst of her! And let everyone deliver himself from the fierce anger of the LORD (Jeremiah 51:41-45).
6 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land (Haggai 2:6).
Again, it appears that earthquakes, from God, will be the main cause. Now, there also will be high heat, but not the way many scientists predict::
8 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory (Revelation 16:8-9).
These scriptures are expected to be fulfilled in the 21st century.
What will happen next century?
We should be in the millennium where God will cause the land to produce in abundance, etc. The planet will be like be like the Garden of Eden:
35 ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ (Ezekiel 36:35)
But what about 10,000 years from now? Will human pollution from the 20th and 21st century affect the planet then as scientists are saying?
No.
Consider the following:
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (2 Peter 3:10-11)
If that is not persuasive enough, consider the following:
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. (Revelation 21:1)
Those who believe and understand the Bible realize that scientists are wrong to think that the rise of the sea will be a problem in 10,000 because of CO2 and other pollution now.
It is not that there are not problems now, but the hope for humanity is NOT an international agreement to stop the burning of fossil fuels, but the return of Jesus and the establishment of the millennialKingdom of God on the Earth. After a time, that will be followed by the final phase of the Kingdom of God as Revelation 21 describes.
Many scientists do not believe the Bible nor in the Creator God, thus, they overlook the foundation of knowledge.
10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
While scientists are smart in certain physical areas, their overlooking the Bible causes many to reach conclusions that are simply not fully accurate. The Bible warns about many who learn information, but fail to realize the truth:
3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (2 Timothy 3:1-7)
It is not just scientist that fit into the above about “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”–nearly all who profess to be Christians fall in that specific category, and the vast majority of actual Christians in these end times fail to see the truth about themselves according to Jesus (Revelation 3:14-22).
After Jesus returns humans will live God’s way of life on this Earth and it will prosper (see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?). Humans do not need a physical change of planets, but spiritual change–change that will come about keeping God’s laws of love.
While humanity will get close to destroying itself in this age, Divine intervention, which is alien to people such as Dr. Hawking, will intervene and save humanity (see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?).
Rising sea levels caused by modern pollution will simply not be a problem 10,000 years from now.
The Bible, the Earth, and Pollution
In the Old Testament, much of the land was prohibited from being permanently sold:
23 'The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. 24 And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land. (Leviticus 25:23-24)
Essentially, families would get their land back every fifty years. If you are getting land back, you are more careful about destroying or polluting it. But as this rule is no longer followed, many think nothing of dumping toxic chemicals in many places, including sometimes lands their companies own.
The Bible is clear that greed and various lusts cause problems including death (James 4:1-3). Christians are to be delivered from the powers of darkness that now dominate the world:
13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
Certain amounts of industrial pollution happen because many do not take seriously enough what has been called the 'golden rule':
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
Instead, many live by the rule, whoever has the gold rules. But that way leads to death.
Christians are to love their neighbors:
37 "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)
One does not show love for one's neighbor by polluting the neighbors air, land, or water supply.
People in general, and Christians in particular, should try to pollute less and waste less. We should not litter. We should pick up after ourselves. We should try to insure our plastic trash does not blow into waterways or on the land. We should try to avoid, or minimize, the use of synthetic chemicals where it is feasible. And yes, we can separate trash for recycling, as well as try to reuse items instead of throwing them away and replacing them. We should live as Christian pacifists--human wars have long been a factor in pollution and destruction and this will get worse. We should live as Jesus and strive not to sin.
International groups fighting pollution normally leave sin and the Bible out of their solutions, but that is a major contributor to pollution of all types.
The creation is groaning under the weight of sin, but Christians will help restore it:
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. (Romans 8:19-22)
This will happen with the return of Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). All things were created through and for Jesus (Colossians 1:15-20). And the world will be purged and a new, unpolluted, earth will be here:
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10-13)
Jesus will lead the charge to fix the environmental and other problems that the world is unwilling to properly fix now.
There is solution to pollution.
Consider that the Bible tells of a great time to come:
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
And dust shall be the serpent's food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,"
Says the Lord. (Iaiah 65:25)
Although the above will not happen until the millennium (see also Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism?), God has clearly placed humans in a position of responsibility and dominion over the creation in this age (Genesis 2:15).
And while some may argue that humans are more important than the rest of the creation, we should not be hostile to the creation. Many of pollution issues affect our environmental and negatively impact people.
As far as living as a Christian, a rule that I try to live by is "waste less, want less." We all have wants, but the less we waste, the less we excessively contribute to various types of pollution.
We should have proper concern for the environment and live as Christian stewards.
Remember, God is going to come to destroy those that destroy the Earth (Revelation 11:18).
Here is a link to a related sermon: Christians and the Environment.
Thiel B. The Bible, Christians, and the Environment. http://www.cogwriter.com/christians-environment.htm (c) 2014/2015/2016/2017/2019 2021 2022 2023 1201
There is a YouTube video available titled Air Pollution, Autism, and Prophecy.
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