FROM THE TOP
LELAND ACKER chreporter@mediactr.com
The California wildfires have re-ignited the great global warming debate, which, contrary to Al Gore's belief, is not over. While one may concede that the earth's climate is changing and the earth is growing warmer, causing more extreme weather changes and catastrophic disasters, the cause of global warming is debatable.

Please understand that I am not attempting to be political here, nor am I out to reject environmental protection. The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof. He has entrusted us with His creation, and as stewards, we are to treat it wisely. So, I am not opposed to environmental conservation and protection.

The purpose of my writing today is to assure you that the polar ice caps will not melt, and Alto will never become ocean front property. (Sorry Alto, we'll have to find another way to boost your tourism.)

While global warming is partly a man-made problem, it should be noted that the oceans emit amounts of the global warming gas, carbon dioxide, that would dwarf emissions that are man made. While violent hurricanes, and even California wildfires and mud slides may (and I am having trouble making the wildfire/ mud slide connection to global warming) be traceable to global warming, this phenomenon will by no means be the end of the world. To summarize, the movie, "The Day After Tomorrow," is fiction... plain and simple.

God's word actually deals with our environmental problems, and offers assurance.

Romans 8:22 says "We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now."

The reason for the wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, earthquakes and mud slides is not because you drive an SUV. It is because the earth is groaning for the day Christ comes back to earth. When He returns, we will have a new heaven and a new earth. (That's the summary).

As the natural disasters occur more frequently and with greater devastation, you can be assured that the time of Christ's coming is drawing closer.

There are many doomsday forecasters predicting the melting of the ice caps and a world-wide flood. (We know God promised never to do that again.) There are those who warn of the depletion of the ozone layer.

While we should do our best to protect the environment, we should not overlook the real warning. That Christ is coming again, and when He does, it will be judgment day.