As a boy I lived in Owego, in rural upstate New York just north of the Pennsylvania border about halfway to Ohio, in the late 1950s to mid-1960s. Our locale was more moderate in winter than Buffalo, both in temperature and in snowfall. Nonetheless, it was fairly common to have blizzards that would dump two to three feet of snow, sometimes more, in a day. (A foot of snow is, on average, equivalent to about an inch of rain. Even four or five inches of rain in a day is remarkable but by no means … [Read more...]
Former National Hurricane Center Director Tells Florida Governor Fighting Global Warming Won’t Protect Florida from Extreme Weather
For Immediate Release Burke, VA, August 14, 2014—One of the world’s leading experts on hurricanes wrote to Florida Governor Rick Scott August 3 to counter an environmental advocacy group’s demand for Florida to fight global warming. Dr. Neil Frank was a household name and familiar face for Floridians while Director of the National Hurricane Center from 1978 through 1987. He then served as Chief Meteorologist at KHOU-TV Houston, TX, until his retirement in 2008. “It has come to my attention … [Read more...]
Is Fighting Global Warming a “Pro-Life” Issue and Necessary to Shield Florida from “Extreme Weather”? No, Says Former National Hurricane Center Director Neil Frank
Alerted that the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) had launched a campaign to pressure Florida Governor Rick Scott to take steps to combat global warming in order to protect Florida from extreme weather, calling it a “pro-life” issue, former National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Neil Frank, a pro-life evangelical himself, sent off a highly critical letter of his own on August 3, a copy of which he sent to the Cornwall Alliance. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” Frank said of … [Read more...]
Reflections on Climate Change on the Anniversary of Super Storm Sandy
by Neil Frank and E. Calvin Beisner Super Typhoon Haiyan and the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy should remind all of us of the tragic suffering that is part of living in the post-fall world, affected by both human sin and the divine curse (Genesis 3). But is Rev. Darren A. Ferguson, of Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Far Rockaway, NY, whose home and church Sandy destroyed, right to insist that “climate change” made Sandy stronger than it otherwise would have been? Assume for a moment … [Read more...]
Is Superstorm Sandy a Harbinger of the ‘New Normal’ Because of Global Warming?
[An abridged version of this article appeared in World magazine’s online edition Tuesday, November 6, 2012.] Long before Superstorm Sandy subsided, a new storm arose—an opportunistic attempt to score political points out of a great tragedy, as some people rushed to blame the powerful storm on climate change. Al Gore said, “We must heed this warning and act quickly to solve the climate crisis.” Former Obama administration green jobs czar Van Jones tweeted that Sandy proved Gore “was … [Read more...]
Prayer and Practice in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy
As I write, much of the northeastern United States is reeling from Hurricane Sandy, which brought high winds and warm, moist air from the Caribbean. It joined with a “nor’easter,” which brought cold winds from the east, making a particularly devastating storm. Please join us in prayer for the roughly 50 million people in the area struck by this powerful storm. Pray for their safety, for their comfort as they suffer economic losses and often frightening situations, and especially for comfort … [Read more...]
