There's a great article in the June/July 2011 issue of First Things by Princeton physicist William Happer. In "The Truth about Greenhouse Gases", Happer explains why carbon dioxide is not a pollutant, contrary to the claims of climate change alarmists.
Happer notes that the currrent level of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere is about 390 ppm, up from 280 ppm about 150 years ago. Temperatures during that time period have gone up about 4/5 of a degree Celsius.
To put these numbers in context, he explains that for plants to grow, the level has to be at least 150 ppm, and that the higher the level of carbon dioxide, the better plants do. Humans run into trouble if the level is too high. NASA has estimated that levels above 5000 ppm are harmful to people. The current 390 is way below 5000.
Happer says that current levels of burning of fossil fuels add about 2 ppm per year to the atmosphere, which puts us in no danger of having carbon dioxide levels that are too high. A doubling of the current level, which would take about 195 years, would only cause warming of 1 degree Celsius.
Happer also...
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Posted at: 11:35 PM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
Early Christians often had to deal with Roman Emperors who proclaimed themselves to be gods and didn't appreciate Christians saying that Jesus was the true Ruler of the world.
More recently Christians in Communist countries have had to face the wrath of dictators who would tolerate no competing authorities. It has been estimated that two thirds of all the martyrdoms in Christian history occurred during the 20th Century, with Communist regimes responsible for most of that persecution.
In an important article in the April 2011 issue of First Things, George Weigel describes the Soviet Union's relentless war against the Catholic Church. He identifies those, like John Paul II, who successfully stood up against Communism. He also identifies those who cooperated with or spied for the Communists.
When President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union "the Evil Empire", he was simply stating the truth about a regime that enslaved hundreds of millions of people. Sadly, his statement was controversial, an indication of the extent to which the West was in denial of Communism's true nature.
We should never forget the heroism of those who bravely fought to topple the Soviet Union. And we should pray for those who are resisting...
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Posted at: 11:24 AM | 0 Comments | Add Comment | Permalink
