A Practical Green New Deal

By now we’ve all have heard the bad news. The world is going to end in 12 years because of air pollution. The only way to stop it is to give all our money to AOC, get rid of all internal combustion engines and fossil fuels along with farting cows, all of which put pollutants into the atmosphere. We must stop having children and turn down our thermostats and crawl under the covers – which may exasperate the previous problem!

But let’s be the adults in the room and see if there is a serious answer to this serious question. Let’s assume that prying a couple of trillion dollars out from under the mattresses of all those greedy billionaires turns out to be feasible without causing World War 3. What would be a effective, practical way to use that pile of cash in the most efficient, highest bang-for-the-buck kind of way?

In America, we have already figured out how to do this. We have had a 70% reduction in air pollution over the past few years and it is mostly attributable to the increased use, not of solar panels, windmills and electric cars, but to natural gas – plentiful volumes of gas accessed with fracking technology. And the source of that nasty, kill-the-planet-in-12-years pollution is not even found in America. It is found in China and India primarily. Recognizing the major sources of the pollution problem makes the solution to reducing it almost fall out of the box! Let’s give those trillions of dollars to China and India along with the fracking technology and let them have a go at cleaning up the world’s skies! Not only would we be putting the work into the hands of people who have a tremendous work ethic (compared to the Americans and Europeans) but when they put their mind to doing something, they get it done! They don’t need to stop and change horses in mid-stream as is always the case in America every 4 years.

Already the switch to natural gas has been noticeable in the Beijing skies. Shuttering the coal burning plants in that country has had a major impact on the PM2.5 pollution indexes in Beijing. Expanding their access and usage of the much lower polluting natural gas will have a large effect on the amount of nasty pollutants entering the atmosphere. Everyone on earth will be able to enjoy life considerable beyond that 12-year dismal deadline that we are told will otherwise be our misfortune. And we could even come out of this crisis looking like the good guys that are truly interested in the greater good of all mankind. As an exceeding wise person once said, “They go low, we go high.” Great! Let’s do that for once. We can possibly save the world by being post-hypocritical. Hmm! Sounds like the name for a new, non-political party!

Of Global Warming and the End of the World

The Bible has been credited with being filled with prophesies and fulfillment of prophecies. Sometimes, it seems that people push the prophetic qualities of the scripture a bit too far - the late Harold Camping is a name that would come to mind - and sometimes people just twist things to make them look prophetic. Get prepared for one of those twisting moments here! Really, it seems that the onset of Global Warming, and even its cause, is predicted in the book of Timothy! In I Timothy 1:1-2 it says that "the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron..." There it is! The reason for global warming is the heat coming off the hot iron that has seared the consciences of so many people in these latter days!

Did Jesus Tell an Untruth?

Yes, He did! I know it, you know it! And the people that heard him tell it certainly knew it!

Now before your call the theology cops on me, let me explain. In John 2:19, Jesus was in the temple and was very upset with the commercialism that was taking place there. He took matters into His own hands, made up a whip and chased the moneychangers and their flocks and herds out of the hallowed structure. “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market,” He yelled after them as they high-tailed it down the streets. Some of those closest to Him realized that the fire in his eyes and the zeal in His whip had some predicate in the ancient scriptures where it said of the coming prophet, "Zeal for your house will consume me." But those who had allowed this indecent commerce to take place in the temple demanded to know on what authority He stood to take such action. They demanded that He give them a sign. "What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"

This is where He uttered the sound-bite that would hit the Jerusalem news that evening. "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days," He predicts. Those who heard Him say it rushed to judgement on what He had said. Well, they finally had Him. There was absolutely no way this could happen! Yea, turn some water into wine -- no problem! Heal the sick, raise the dead? Ok, a bit more difficult, but maybe. But rebuild this structure that had taken 46 long years to build? No way! The headlines would read, "Jesus Confirmed to be a Liar!"

That analysis would take root in the hearts of the people. Years later, they would trot this statement out at Jesus' trial as proof that he was a deceiver of men. But you say, "He was talking about raising His body up in three days after His crucifixion! He did do that!" And indeed he did! But the people that heard these words did not know the whole story. They only heard the part that they wanted to hear and never got any deeper than that.

And that is the point I am trying to make in working on this narrative. How many unbelievers are unbelievers because they are cleverly hiding behind some Bible story that, in their mind, is obviously untrue, thereby rendering the entirety of the Bible to be untrue? That was the subterfuge for unbelief that a co-worker of mine was adopting when, in a discussion about creation, he said that he really couldn't believe in a book that says that God created the world in six days. How could that be true when the sun, moon, and stars were not even created until the fourth day. Obviously, having days before the sun was around would have been impossible. So, toss the whole book out.

But when I asked him my little routine about periods of time (See Unappreciated Originations Blog) and showed how Genesis 1 really showed how God created the week, he looked at me quite stunned and said that no one had ever taught him that! I had just destroyed something that had been standing between him and his believing the truth of the Gospel. Genesis 1 might not be a scientific explanation of how the world was created, but it certainly is a wonderful explanation of how the week, which enjoys universal acceptance around the world, was created. The Scribes and Pharisees, who firmly rejected Jesus because of his three day prediction, had to reevaluate their understanding of Jesus after He rose from the grave after three days. In a similar fashion, this young man suddenly had to reevaluate his rejection of the overall truth of the Bible just because he saw Genesis 1 as unscientific and untrue.

OOPS!

I awoke the other morning to the alarm at 5:30. Suddenly it flashed into my mind that I was supposed to be at work at 6:00 o'clock this morning. I had forgotten to set my alarm for 5:15 and now as my feet hit the floor I was already running late. I rushed to get dressed, feed the cat and attend to the other small tasks of getting ready to go to work. I realized that there was no bread in the house so that meant that I would need to stop at Wawa and pick up a sandwich; more time wasted. And since it was so late, I would have no time to eat breakfast, so perhaps I could stop at the Café and get a breakfast sandwich. I barely had time to kiss my wife before running out the door. And just as I was about to close the garage door, I heard her calling, "Ken, it's Sunday!" Never have I felt so happy to listen to my wife! Hahaha!

Of all the things I've ever lost, it's my mind I miss the most!