Changing the Climate of Christian Internationalism: Global Warming and Human Suffering
Noah Toly Wednesday, 1 September 2004
This summer's movie lineup included the usual number of would-be blockbusters. But for every Shrek 2, there was a Terminal, and for every Spider-Man 2, there was a Day After Tomorrow. This last, an apocalyptic natural disaster film, was widely acknowledged as an artistic and commercial disappointment. While no single shortcoming can be credited with its failure, its unscientific climatic hyperbole warranted a great deal of criticism. The extreme weather and rapid changes in climate portrayed in the movie are not forecast for the day after tomorrow. We may rest assured, for example, that the "conveyor belt," an Atlantic current of warm water keeping Northern and Western Europe habitable, will not cease to operate in the next year, or even in the next few decades. In fact, a global ice age, while thought to be related to earlier periods of warming, is not an anticipated effect of contemporary climate change, as the massive amounts of fresh water required to significantly alter ocean currents simply do not exist any longer, and any cooling effect of a minor modification would be offset by the overall warming trend.
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