Jerry Newcombe
New study: Most effective way to fight global warming? Don't have kids
By Jerry Newcombe
A radical solution is being proposed by those promoting the theory that man is to blame for climate change. Their solution? Have fewer children. Humankind is where the problem lies...supposedly.
Writing for The Washington Times (7/13/17), Valerie Richardson notes, "Those who want to get serious about tackling climate change should forget about recycling and have fewer babies, based on the results of a newly released study."
Citing a paper published in Environmental Research Letters, Richardson summarizes the conclusion that "the most effective 'lifestyle choice' for reducing personal greenhouse-gas emissions is having 'one fewer child,' followed by living car-free, avoiding airline travel, and eating a plant-based diet...for many women, bearing 'one fewer child' would mean having no kids."
Imagine young couples and young women taking this message seriously and forgoing the incredible privilege to bring children into this world based on their belief that this is gospel truth. Man-made climate change is believed by, supposedly, 97 percent of scientists – that is, that human activity is what causes global warming/climate change.
It seems as if some on the left are very anti-child these days. Perhaps this is a reflection of the abortion ethic. Perhaps that's why a million abortions annually in America don't seem to trouble them.
I remember reading a story from Gary Bauer in the book Children At Risk that he co-wrote with Dr. James Dobson a quarter of a century ago. The anecdote reflects the anti-children bias among some in our culture.
As I recall, he described a young family with many young children at a fancy mall. The children got a little unruly at one point, and a disapproving lady passing by – perhaps a feminist – shouted at the young family an epitaph along the lines of: "You breeders!" – as if that were some cosmic insult.
The Bible tells us that children are a blessing from God. And they are. I can't spend enough time with my grandchildren. How much joy they bring to me and the family.
This whole issue shows worldviews in conflict. The assumption is that catastrophic-climate-change-caused-by-human-activity is real. I don't believe it. Nor do millions of other sane and well-educated Americans – including many scientists. However, since the elites who run the key academic and scientific institutions believe it, dissidents (regardless of how well qualified) are not tolerated. It's Galileo all over again.
We should remember that the phrase "climate change" has been substituted for "global warming" among the alarmists, since apparently the earth has not been getting warmer since 1997.
Even a new peer-reviewed report (7/15/17) claims that global warming is "not reality...totally inconsistent with credible temperature data."
But disagree with the prevailing view on climate change today, and you're in trouble. Recently the world's best-known scientist, Stephen Hawking, excoriated President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, saying, "Trump's action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of 250 degrees (Celsius), and raining sulfuric acid."
Columnist Jonah Goldberg succinctly described this as "nuts," adding, "The more you sound like some cowbell-wielding street preacher wearing a sandwich board that says 'The End is Nigh!' the more likely people will ignore you. Particularly if your last few terrifying predictions didn't pan out."
The Bible says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." Dr. Cal Beisner with the Cornwall Alliance, an organization that looks at the issue of environmentalism from a biblical perspective, points out that when God made the world, He made the world in a very stable way. And the earth goes through different periods of cooling and warming and cooling and warming. In fact, two scientists use the phrase, "unstoppable global warming every 1500 years."
Almost ten years ago there was an article in USA Today with the title along the lines: Is Our Religion Killing Us? And the answer basically was "yes," because our religion, i.e., the Judeo-Christian tradition, teaches us to have more babies, and that's supposedly bad for the earth.
The Bible says that children are good for the world. God said to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth." As humans made in God's image, we are the stewards of the earth. Now, of course, we're not to destroy it or abuse it.
Rather than more babies causing more problems in this world, by allegedly adding to our supposed climate change crisis, I agree with Solomon the Wise, when he said (in Psalm 127): "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Children are a blessing from God, not a curse to the earth.
© Jerry Newcombe
July 22, 2017
A radical solution is being proposed by those promoting the theory that man is to blame for climate change. Their solution? Have fewer children. Humankind is where the problem lies...supposedly.
Writing for The Washington Times (7/13/17), Valerie Richardson notes, "Those who want to get serious about tackling climate change should forget about recycling and have fewer babies, based on the results of a newly released study."
Citing a paper published in Environmental Research Letters, Richardson summarizes the conclusion that "the most effective 'lifestyle choice' for reducing personal greenhouse-gas emissions is having 'one fewer child,' followed by living car-free, avoiding airline travel, and eating a plant-based diet...for many women, bearing 'one fewer child' would mean having no kids."
Imagine young couples and young women taking this message seriously and forgoing the incredible privilege to bring children into this world based on their belief that this is gospel truth. Man-made climate change is believed by, supposedly, 97 percent of scientists – that is, that human activity is what causes global warming/climate change.
It seems as if some on the left are very anti-child these days. Perhaps this is a reflection of the abortion ethic. Perhaps that's why a million abortions annually in America don't seem to trouble them.
I remember reading a story from Gary Bauer in the book Children At Risk that he co-wrote with Dr. James Dobson a quarter of a century ago. The anecdote reflects the anti-children bias among some in our culture.
As I recall, he described a young family with many young children at a fancy mall. The children got a little unruly at one point, and a disapproving lady passing by – perhaps a feminist – shouted at the young family an epitaph along the lines of: "You breeders!" – as if that were some cosmic insult.
The Bible tells us that children are a blessing from God. And they are. I can't spend enough time with my grandchildren. How much joy they bring to me and the family.
This whole issue shows worldviews in conflict. The assumption is that catastrophic-climate-change-caused-by-human-activity is real. I don't believe it. Nor do millions of other sane and well-educated Americans – including many scientists. However, since the elites who run the key academic and scientific institutions believe it, dissidents (regardless of how well qualified) are not tolerated. It's Galileo all over again.
We should remember that the phrase "climate change" has been substituted for "global warming" among the alarmists, since apparently the earth has not been getting warmer since 1997.
Even a new peer-reviewed report (7/15/17) claims that global warming is "not reality...totally inconsistent with credible temperature data."
But disagree with the prevailing view on climate change today, and you're in trouble. Recently the world's best-known scientist, Stephen Hawking, excoriated President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, saying, "Trump's action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of 250 degrees (Celsius), and raining sulfuric acid."
Columnist Jonah Goldberg succinctly described this as "nuts," adding, "The more you sound like some cowbell-wielding street preacher wearing a sandwich board that says 'The End is Nigh!' the more likely people will ignore you. Particularly if your last few terrifying predictions didn't pan out."
The Bible says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." Dr. Cal Beisner with the Cornwall Alliance, an organization that looks at the issue of environmentalism from a biblical perspective, points out that when God made the world, He made the world in a very stable way. And the earth goes through different periods of cooling and warming and cooling and warming. In fact, two scientists use the phrase, "unstoppable global warming every 1500 years."
Almost ten years ago there was an article in USA Today with the title along the lines: Is Our Religion Killing Us? And the answer basically was "yes," because our religion, i.e., the Judeo-Christian tradition, teaches us to have more babies, and that's supposedly bad for the earth.
The Bible says that children are good for the world. God said to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth." As humans made in God's image, we are the stewards of the earth. Now, of course, we're not to destroy it or abuse it.
Rather than more babies causing more problems in this world, by allegedly adding to our supposed climate change crisis, I agree with Solomon the Wise, when he said (in Psalm 127): "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Children are a blessing from God, not a curse to the earth.
© Jerry Newcombe
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