SocietyWatch
Climate report is junk science
A report released by the United States Global Change Research Program on Nov. 23, 2018, blames extreme weather disasters on man-made global warming caused by burning fossil fuels. But the conclusions drawn in this report are based on biased science. An analysis published by the Heartland Institute in March 2018 brings some clarity to the subject.
The Heartland Report critiques a previous volume of the U.S. government’s “Climate Science Special Report.” It explains that the primary tools climate scientists use to make predictions are computer models. But these models oversimplify the Earth’s climate system, even to the point of ignoring the basic fact that the heating effects of carbon dioxide are not linear. The first 20 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produce more warming than the next 400 parts per million. This means that carbon dioxide has already warmed the atmosphere almost as much as it possibly can. These simulations also ignore many of the Earth’s climate systems that mitigate rising carbon dioxide levels, such as increased plant growth. As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise, plant growth increases. As plant growth increases, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels fall.
The Heartland report also notes that because physical processes in the atmosphere are not well understood, scientists make guesses about the values of the variables in the equations they use, such as when they are predicting storms. This is why weather predictions made more than two weeks in advance are often hopelessly inaccurate. It is also why climate scientists cannot decide whether warmer ocean surface temperatures increase or decrease the frequency of hurricanes.
The oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job, states that God balances the vapors of the clouds and warms the Earth with a south wind (Job 37:16-17). He commands the clouds to do His will, whether for mercy or for correction (verses 12-13). Several chapters in the book of Job cover God’s explanations of how the mechanisms that control Earth’s climate are under His control. They are vast and complicated, beyond human comprehension. “God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened” (Job 37:5-10).
Children abusing children—why?
Exposure to pornography is leading to an alarming number of sexual assaults being perpetrated by children against others their own age and younger, according to medical experts at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Heidi Olson, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Coordinator, told news station khsb in November 2018 that what shocked those who collected the data was that “almost half of our perpetrators are minors.” Hospital nurses are finding that many young perpetrators admit they are acting out violent assaults they have seen in pornography.
Despite its mainstream acceptance, pornography is harmful to mental health. Jesus Christ said, “whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” The Apostle James wrote, “when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin” (Matthew 5:28; James 1:15). The evil fruits of society’s lust for pornography continue to multiply—to the point that educators see the effects even on our children.
Americans dying younger
The life expectancy for the average American is falling and has been since 2014. That is according to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc) on November 29. The cause? Drug overdoses and suicide.
On average, 129 Americans commit suicide every day, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. And the cdc reported that an average of 200 people died from drug overdoses each day in 2017. Since 1999, overdose rates have jumped 255 percent. These overdose and suicide rates show that people are lethally hopeless. Civically, morally, legally, economically, militarily, nationally, internationally, human civilization itself is failing.
There is indeed a void in human life, and not just among the addicted and the suicidal. Herbert W. Armstrong described this void in the August 1962 Plain Truth: “[W]hat God created in the first Adam was not yet complete. Man was made carnal, material—but he was made to need the Spirit of God. Without this spiritual life from God, man experiences a sense of emptiness—a hunger and thirst for that which will satisfy.”
This is why our world is filled with so many distractions like sports, entertainment, illicit sex, and worthier-yet-still-unfulfilling pursuits like greatness in business, politics, science and the arts. This is why some turn to drugs. It is why some turn to suicide. They are trying to fill the void. But without the missing piece—the Spirit of their Creator—they cannot do it.
