Steven Hunter – Weird Weather Watch: Apocalypse, Soon

A Global Warming Nightmare

I just read an article from motherjones.com that talks about the effects global warming will have on the earth in the coming years. The story is originally reported by the Los Angeles Times early in April of this year.

The article states the imminent consequences that the world will see from global warming. It says that North America will see more hurricanes, floods and heat waves. Also, the coasts lines will flood and there will be a sharp reduction in agriculture do to a shortness in water supply. The article also points out that Africa will be hit the hardest by the water shortage and 30% of the world’s species could go extinct if temperatures continue to rise. The study was conducted by the U.N. and was released in a report.

This made me think of two things we talked about in class. The first is Otto’s idea of God as “tremendum.” This is very clearly seen in this article because it talks about natural disasters like hurricanes and floods. Those things, if you believe in God as controller of all things, represent his awesome and tremendous ability to create astronomical events. The second thing was that of the ultimate apocalypse. These natural disasters may seem to some people to be the near end to the world.

I think that global warming is a serious problem because it seems like the human race will eventually be wiped out by all the disastrous that result from it. Can you imagine the whole world being wiped out by these hurricanes, fires and earthquakes? It would be extremely chaotic and painful to go through something like that. The article was interesting to read and I would recommend others read it.