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Air Date: April 22, 2015
Host : Jim Schneider
Guest: E. Calvin Beisner
Dr. E. Calvin Beisner is the founder and national spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. He is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing on the application of the Christian worldview, theology and ethics to economics, government, environmental stewardship and public policy. He has served as both a college and seminary professor and has written 12 books and made contributions to over 30 books. He has testified as an expert witness on the ethics and economics of climate policy before congressional committees. He also lectures around the world.
Earth Day, which started in 1970, was founded in part to promote environmentalism. But it has also been complicit in the dissemination of false or exaggerated information. Early predictions were that the earth would be 12 degrees colder by the year 2000, double what would be needed to start a new ice age, and that increasing nitrogen in the atmosphere would eventually filter out all light, making the earth’s surface unusable.
Despite these and many other unsupportable predictions, which have since been disproven, there have been few if any acknowledgement that the predictions were wrong. Instead, more dire prophecies take their place. Ultimately the view of the most radical environmentalists is that the world would be better off untouched by man, with some even proposing reducing the human population.
In contrast, in the Bible, God gave man the responsibility to populate the earth and to subdue it, which implies being good stewards of the earth, preserving and improving it. One recent example of good stewardship has been the increasing number of people who have access to safe drinking water.
Global Warming does occur from time to time, but is difficult to prove that it is increasing today. In fact, temperature measurements show there has been no warming for over 18 years. The computer models that result in doomsday predictions about the future assume global warming at twice the rate it has ever been observed. They make no allowance for zero or negative rates of global warming. So these computer models have proven to be wrong.
The Environmental Protection Agency has accomplished some good results; for example, requiring polluters to clean up the areas they have damaged. But in recent years they have stepped far beyond their initial mandate, which said nothing about controlling emmissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). Their most recent rule would require a 30% reduction in CO2 emmissions by power plants by 2030, while admitting the effects would not be noticable. Compliance is estimated to cost about $50 billion per year, the loss of about $1,200 per year in income for the average family of four, and the loss of about 600,000 jobs.
These and other topics are covered in detail in a series of “Landmark Documents” posted on the Cornwall Alliance website, including
–Protect the Poor: Ten Reasons to Oppose Harmful Climate Change Policies
–A Call to Truth, Prudence, and Protection of the Poor 2014: The Case Against Harmful Climate Policies Get’s Stronger
–An Examination of the Scientific, Ethical, and Theological Implications of Climate Change
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Cornwall Alliance Website
