That Colossus — Climate Change

I remember listening to the news in 2008 with my father; whenever “global warming” or “climate change” was brought up, he was quick to tell me that it was essentially nothing but a scam cooked up by President Obama to grab more control than the federal government was supposed to possess.
The narrative my father painted for me continued to impact me for much of my life. The arguments were usually one of three: that the climate always changes and talking about “global warming” was a big misdirection; that recent, rapid climate change existed but was not humanity’s fault and was out of our control; or that the recent climate change does exist and is our fault but really is not a big deal.
Consequently, when I heard anybody express real concern about climate change, I wrote it off as scaremongering or just incorrect. For most of my life my eyes glossed over when hearing the words “climate change” because, in my mind, there was nothing new worth considering. I had heard it all. I was convinced that I had the correct view on it, and those insisting that climate change was something to at least think about were just looking at it the wrong way.
But the frequency of conversations surrounding climate change has only increased since 2008. My school, Gordon College, hosted several lectures this past year alone on the topic, and none of them involved Chinese hoaxes or accusations of scaremongering. The consensus among those thoughtful Christians was this: the current warming of the climate is real, it is largely our fault, and we need to be conscious of it going forward. This was a radical change of pace from what I was used to. I had been raised in a place where “climate change” and “Christianity” were not mentioned in the same breath, unless one was attacking the other. At the very least, looking into it further couldn’t hurt.
Here is what I have come to learn. Although it is true that global weather patterns and the climate as a whole have drastically changed over the millennia, data shows that it has never changed so dramatically in such a brief timeframe. Since 1880, NASA reports that the global average temperature is up 1.8 degrees overall. Carbon dioxide “parts per million (PPM)” are up drastically since 1950 and the drastic climate changes largely correlate with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. 
The government site “climate.nasa.gov” has wonderful resources that simply present the evidence; it does not sheathe the data in partisan jargon or make radical calls to action as so many outlets do.
So I ask myself: what kept me from considering that we might be responsible for a changing climate, changes that might impact my generation and many to come? We are stewards of the Earth, and poorly stewarding the Earth might indeed result in tangible negative consequences.
It was incredibly difficult to get past my ingrained bias. My tendency is too often to think, “I know this already” and to blind myself to opposing views. Setting the Paris Accord and political discussions aside, I decided then to wrestle with the data and operate from there. I am determined not to approach any issue with a preconceived notion about its truth.
Politics have inappropriately entered into the climate change debate. Although climate change certainly does have political implications, those political implications are often obscure. I had preconceived notions about something I had devoted little time or research to on my own time. That said I want to look into all areas of my life and ask myself: where else have I made snap judgments?
Collin Hall is the publisher’s grandson and editor of The Tartan, Gordon College.