Oversimplified Cause
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 As a science teacher my challenge was helping students realize science subject matter connected with many events in their lives. Some students regarded science as their favorite course, possibly because they were able to connect science subject matter with their total life experience. Their comprehension of the world became broad-based and…
Read MoreAssurance or Anxiety?
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 Do the events of weather inspire assurance and reverence for the Creator who designed Earth’s climate system for human thriving? Or contrarily, do weather and climate events conjure up feelings of anxiety and unease? Humanity is gifted with the ability to appropriate either positive or negative emotions. A search of numerous…
Read MoreWeather Wonders
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 Contemporary weather discussions often revolve around awe-inspiring events. Today’s conversations often join with the current climate buzz where startling weather events (effects) are linked with our modern obsession to explain the “why” of those events (causes). Some alarmists may be turning from wholesome fascination to fear owing to our current societal…
Read MoreSettled Climate Science
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 On February 20, 2014 Charles Krauthammer submitted a highly popular column to the Wall Street Journal entitled “The Myth of Settled Science.” Public reaction was both predictable and surprising. Both sides of the Climate Change debate are searching for ammunition to strengthen their own cache of artillery. The warfare imagery is…
Read MoreClimate Change Consensus
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 The most recent segment of the 5th IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) assessment report has been released. The IPCC is a scientific body under the auspices of the United Nations. The most recent report is attracting attention for its renewed strong warnings of dire climate change “risks” supposedly agreed to…
Read MoreEnvironment, Ecology, or Deep Ecology?
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 When the environmental movement originated in the 1960s and 1970s, a relatively new term entered our modern vocabulary. The term environment was well understood but ecology was comparatively new and unfamiliar. Most people understood damage to the environment but used the term ecology incorrectly. Ecology expresses broad scope interrelationships of living…
Read MoreEarth’s Warming History
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 Diligent inquiry yields informative facts in a complex subject such as climate change. Before 1988 the topic did not generate heated emotions. During the 1970s scientists flirted with the possibility of global cooling. In terms of “scare” topics there is no paucity of subject matter. Some topics are legitimately worthy of…
Read MoreClimate Confusion
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 On the evening of March 10, 2014, over half of the Democratic senators in Washington staged an all-night “filibuster” in senate chambers to highlight awareness of climate change. That the world’s climate changes is beyond any question. Climate change should not be used as a pejorative term. Thirty senators from the…
Read MoreClimate Wisdom
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 The counsel of Psalm 90:12 is appropriate for daily and mundane as well as eternal and spiritual guidance. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom,” proclaims King David. The Apostle James advises, “If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who…
Read MoreFrozen Deep
By: Jim Virkler; ©2014 Relentless cold describes the winter of 2013-2014 in the central and eastern United States. Accompanying the cold have come frequent snows. In our region this winter has gifted us with over two dozen snowfalls and 43 daily below zero readings so far. Snowfall approaches highest seasonal totals in our area since…
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