Letter to the Editor by Judith Niewiadomski
Recently several women wrote in worried about nature and climate change. Don’t worry: Nature is fine. Fear distorts perception and leads to distorted, not thoughtful, evidence-based thoughts and decisions. Expensive, ineffective government policies will do more harm to our lives than nature or “climate change.”
First of all, God has promised that “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22.) Each of these aspects of life on earth is emphasized by figures of speech—the repetition of linked pairs of opposites and the use of the figure polysyndeton, that is the use of many “ands” more than would be used in normal grammar. In the thousands of years since those words were written down, this truth has proved itself every day.
God designed the Earth as a self regulating system. Wind and ocean currents, tectonic and volcanic activity as well as extraterrestrial events such as sunspot cycles, and the varying temperature of the sun all serve to keep the Earth in balance. Even the least educated of us knows from experience that wind changes temperature. Hurricanes move heat from the tropics to the temperate and polar regions, keeping their temperatures within a range. These three major climate zones have multiple climates within them.
Tectonic events recycle carbon, and volcanic activity generally cools the Earth by putting ash into the atmosphere. Both of these are constantly acting to keep the Earth in balance. Everyday there is a volcano erupting or an earthquake somewhere. (There are two erupting volcanoes in Alaska as of 11:15 p.m. EST Aug 25, 2024 per USGS.) These natural Earth regulating events are so common that we only hear about them when they are exceptionably large or local. The coastal areas of continents that border on the Pacific Ocean is known as the Ring of Fire for its frequent volcanic and tectonic activity. (A great book and video on the unique construction of the Earth is The Privileged Planet by astronomer Guillermo Gonazalez.)
Government policies can neither destroy nor fix the Earth. No matter how much power they may seize using fear of “nuclear winter, “global warming,” or “climate change,” there is nothing governments can do to change any of Earth’s climates. The best they can do is clean up and prevent local pollution. But a thoughtful citizen should be asking why and how they use fear of “climate change” to control people for political and monetary advantage. Governments are made up of people who are as imperfect as, and usually less informed and skilled, than the people they wish to control who work in a broad diversity of occupations. In fact, instead of admitting they were wrong when their dire predictions prove untrue, politicians simply change the terminology. When Earth moves into a cooling cycle, its “Awk, gasp, global cooling, we’re going to freeze.” (1970’s), then as sunspot activity moved into its active cycle, it become “YOU [not me nor we politicians or wealthy elites] must do without gas and oil and oven baked pizza to stop “global warming.” The sunspot cycle ended and then, to not have to think of excuses for their false predictions (ice at the poles was supposed to be melted, cities flooded, etc, etc) gw in the mid 2000’s became the all-inclusive “climate change.” Everything fits in that basket.
But there is more than one climate. I’ve asked the fearful and fear mongers for years: “Which climate is changing and what is it changing into” only to be met with the stupefied silence of a deer after he’s been hit by the headlights. Few people are aware that there are multiple climates in each major zone, several just in New York State. Climate is primarily determined by latitude–the distance North or South of the equator. Other factors include: altitude, proximity to large bodies of water, relative location (coastal or internal, leeward or windward side of a mountain range), ocean and wind currents and other factors. The water in coastal California North of San Diego is colder than the water off New York because the Alaska current cools the water on the West Coast; the Gulf stream warms the water on the East Coast.
God does not want us to live in fear. 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” A sound mind means whole thoughts, holding the truth in mind. But you have to seek the truth to find it.
Just because you experience a couple summers than are hotter than average (and let’s be real–you don’t really remember how hot or cool it was two or three years ago.) does not mean the climate is changing or Nature is distorted. It’s normal. Feelings and human memories do not guarantee truth, and do not mean that we are in danger from variations in weather and temperature. Average temperatures are simply an average of mutliple numbers some of which are higher and some of which are lower.
There will always be ice at the poles as long as the Earth is tilted on its axis (21 degrees). There is nothing that man can do to change that–nuclear weapons from Hiroshima and years of nuclear testing did not change that. The only thing that could change the tilt of the Earth on its axis is a massive asteroid strike. Should that happen it would not matter. The last one, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was large enough to affect Earth’s core and plate tectonics and immediately killed 75% of the species on Earth.
Take a trip to the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Canyonlands in Utah and you will be amazed at how much undeveloped land there is. (And much of it would be better maintained if it were privately owned.) Eighty percent of American land is undeveloped—most of it in areas lefties disparaging deign “flyover country.” Take a drive—New Jersey has massive amounts of wilderness area. The Delaware Water Gap is about an hour and a half away. Or trek up into the Catskills or Adirondacks.
Man cannot change the atmosphere. Our atmosphere is 78% Nitrogen, 21% and 1% other gases, 0.93% of which is argon. Less than 0.04% is carbon dioxide. Earth’s atmosphere is 5.5 quadrillion cubic tons. The biggest greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is water vapor which isn’t even counted and is constantly recycled via the water cycle. There is also a natural carbon cycle by which the Earth recycles carbon. What man does has less effect on any climate than a single ant farting in the Grand Canyon. Trees and plants LOVE carbon dioxide–it’s plant food for them–and they give us oxygen. When the amount of CO2 increases, plants thrive. When it’s a bit warmer (and it was in recent history before the use of cars and gas) people are able to grow more food and live longer and healthier lives.
Reject fear and rebuke politicians who attempt to drive you by fear. They are seeking their own gain–not serving the people. Follow the money. Who is making money on these taxpayer funded projects? Keep government out of it. Private sector solutions to problems are less expensive, more aligned to what people need and want, and far more effective. An example: buffalo were almost extinct when they were under the control of the government. A few private individuals bought and started building up herds —and eventually made a profit renting them out for movies and selling buffalo meat. Buffalo are no longer in danger of becoming extinct. You can even see Buffalo from the Bronx River parkway if you drive by at the right time. (They’re in the Bronx Zoo.) The animals that man owns, for example cows, horses, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, don’t go extinct. Why? Because people take care of what they own but often overuse, damage or show no care for what is not theirs. Yonkers is always looking for volunteers to clean up the aqueduct and trails. But those of us who own property pick up trash as soon as we see it, even if it’s in the street in front of our house.
Fear not ladies, you’re not going to die from “climate change.” Many of us have changed our climates in just a few hours–by hopping a plane and flying to Florida or Hawaii and lived to tell about it. Ecomarxists have built fear into our culture to manipulate you. Look at all the billions that NY and the feds have spent on solar facilities. NY wasted almost a billion taxpayer dollars on solar projects upstate and we got nothing from it except higher taxes. Think—in thousands of years of human history we came further in 50 years using oil and gas than in all the years preceding put together.
Ask why local governments pushing ineffective forms of energy. Our electricity costs keep going up–people who thought Sustainable was going to save them money got a big surprise. Politicians lie for their own ends–which are usually power over all and money. But God never lies. His promises are true. “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) That’s a promise you can trust and be not afraid.
Judith Niewiadomski, Yonkers
