More interesting climate science. A very, very brief teaser derived from the video, guaranteed to mess with your mind: The change in the level of carbon dioxide lags the change in temperature. Yes, I know: that's the opposite of what we are being told by our governments and the scientists who are paid by them. There's more; but you would do well to watch the video. Apart from being a subscriber to the channel, I have no connection with the person or persons responsible for the channel or its content. I have yet to find anything in these videos which gives me pause, or with which I disagree, apart from some typographical errors in some of the captions. We're all prone to those from time to time! Thanks again, David, for catching one of mine from yesterday! 👍))
Now, why am I taking the time to highlight this topic? I mean, aren't there better ways to use my time as a priest? Yes, there are, but, hopefully, I am not neglecting my other responsibilities to share my perspective with you on what would appear to be "merely" a temporal manner. Or is it?
When I was teaching history, I gave my students three "rules" I think are useful in studying history. These are:
1) Follow the money.
1A) Watch the wars. They tell you where the money is.
2) Ask yourself, "What's the agenda?"
Expanding upon the third rule, in part because that's a factor in this conversation, I would say that *everyone* has an agenda. The person or persons who wrote the history book you're reading have an agenda. *I* have an agenda. Now, I would say that mine is a benign agenda. Above all, I want you to be able to think for yourself! As you accumulate knowledge and experience, you will develop your own agenda. This becomes the lens through which you view information and events. Your agenda will determine what information you will accept, what you will reject, and what you decide should be pondered before accepting or rejecting it. Question the sources of what is being presented to you, and reach your own conclusions as to the reliability of that source. Make sure to go to opposing sources, always screening every source by evaluating the agenda, whether open or hidden, and then decide for yourself. This includes questioning yourself! Don't accept something uncritically simply because it supports your own beliefs or opinions. That is usually the most difficult exercise of all.
So: what's the agenda here? We are not being given the information usually presented about global warming/climate change for objective reasons. (Yes, this is a conclusion on my part. You are free to disagree, and we can certainly have a conversation about this point. The ability to reason is a God-given one!) Consider: Would your thinking on climate change be affected if you were told that only four percent of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere each year came as the result of human activity? Can you imagine how profound the changes would have to be to make any meaningful change to the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? It isn't possible.
Nor is it necessary. "Global warming" is not a new phenomenon. The single greatest cause is a nuclear reactor operating in Earth's neighborhood. The reactor's name is, "Sol." This does not mean that we have no responsibility in terms of the environment when we act. Do you waste energy? (You're paying for that already, of course. Make a spreadsheet of your utility bills over time. It's right there...) Do something about it! There are more examples I could offer than anyone would want to read in a post such as this, so I will let you consider your lifestyle for yourself. I want to emphasize this point: we are given dominion over the earth by God, but it is not the dominion which comes from ownership ("This is mine, and I can do whatever I want with it."), but rather the dominion which comes from being the STEWARDS of what belongs to God. Perhaps an example drawn from "The Lord of the Rings?" When the High Kings left Gondor, they appointed stewards to administer the kingdom on their behalf. Many were faithful to this responsibility, for which they possessed the authority (power) to act, derived from the rightful (lawful) authority of the kings, in order to fulfill their duties. However, by the time just prior to the return of the king, the steward at that time decided that the kings were never coming back, and so usurped the throne to seize it for himself and his heirs. The parallel is that the King of this world is Jesus Christ the Lord, Who we believe will return and will establish His kingdom on earth as well as in heaven; but we all too often live as if the only ruler in our life is... us. We usurp His throne. (This is why, in His mercy, He has given us the Mystery of Confession.) If we were to live as stewards rather than as monarchs, the world would be a much different, and better, place - including the environment.
One last word. Governments possess power. Sometimes it is the power of the sword. In the United States of America, we have been blessed in that the basis for government is in the rule of law, and not that of an absolute, and sometimes arbitrary, monarch. Fundamental to the operation of our government is the understanding that the power possessed by the government is ceded to it by the people in order for the government to have the ability to act to protect the people and otherwise provide for the common good. Governments are part of what God has provided for us, and, in his epistle to the Church in Rome, Saint Paul instructs us to be obedient to the government because it is God's instrument for the administration of His justice. But, because governments are also human institutions, they are not always benign; and I believe it is true that governments which owe no allegiance to God always become tyrannical, seeking ever more power over its subjects. The myth of global warming is, in my opinion, one tool being utilized to subjugate us for its own ends, not for our benefit. But we cannot be complacent, nor can we wait for someone else, short of "The Return of the King," our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver us. So be informed! Then be brave, and speak up, even should your words defy the powers-that-be, subject only to being faithful servants of the King. He is, unlike anyone or anything else, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Governments lie. He will not; and He has promised that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. (This is true even if I am completely off base on climate change.) Glory to God in all things!
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