This is What “Accelerating Decline” Means
So, a new study is out regarding sea-level rise and its impact on New York. Reports are that the study is a very exhaustive one that was carried out with diligence by experts in an array of fields. What the report is saying is that New York City can expect sea level increases to be as much as six feet by the end of the century. This report is the latest in a series to dramatically increase both the lower and upper ranges for expected sea level rise by the end of the century. Only a few years ago people were talking about sea-level increases of a foot. And then it was two feet. Then it was three feet. Now it is six feet. The more we know, the more we study and analyze, the worse the future looks.
And, really, what we are seeing here is an awakening (in the scientific community at least) to just how bad off we really are at this time and just how rapidly the systems of the earth are declining. But what we are seeing is just the tip of the iceberg. The ultimate cause of the decline in earth’s systems is the accumulated effect of sin over the millennia. If that sounds like an odd explanation to you, it is only because we don’t have a full appreciation for the extent of the destructive power of sin and therefore tend to lay the blame for the effects of sin on process or forces that we better understand and more readily recognize.
But the destructive power of sin is pervasive. It affects everything, and affects it pretty much equally. Thus, if we take the earth system that is most obviously in distress (and that would be our oceans), we can be pretty sure that in fact all systems of the earth are in equal distress, we just are not able to recognize the extent of distress or the accelerating in distress at this point in time. So, even though we can’t see it, its still there. And the effets are accelerating. That means that we can expect other systems (fresh water, atmospheric, soil and food production, etc.) to have rapidly mounting problems in the near future. Those problems are there now, but are either under-appreciated or under-perceived.
The end events will be quick ones. As our understanding of what’s going on increases, expect men’s hearts to fail them for what is coming on the earth.
Scott Christiansen