I was reading the Edmonton Journal in the Saturday November 22 issue, when I came across an article written about the climate change denier, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe. The writer of the column quoted Senator Inhofe by saying, ” My point is, God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He (God ) is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.”

If all we were doing was standing shoulder to shoulder, which by the way we would be occupying an area the size of the city of Los Angeles, I could agree with Senator Inhofe. However since we are all engaged in various activities throughout the world I find his statement somewhat naive.

I’m not sure if the Senator is aware that there are 7 billion people on earth today, with each one of us leaving a carbon footprint daily. We create a cumulative effect upon the earth.

I would use the cumulative effect to illustrate what would have happened to the Wally Smith tree fruit farm if he had taken Senator Inhofe’s stand that God is entirely in control and we have nothing what so ever to do with it.

First off, Wally was a church going man, but he did not cast all caution to the wind.

When the beavers arrived they built five dams. If Wally had said, “God is in control”, he would have left the dams alone. The water table would have been raised to where it is today and three of the lowest six acres would be flooded with the remaining three acres having trees with drowning roots.

The six acres on higher ground would have been fine if the beavers didn’t start cutting the trees down. Not only was there the beaver to contend with, but there is a tree bark invader called scale which coats the bark, and of course the insect predators of the leaves and the fruit.

We mustn’t forget the mice that girdle the trunks of the young trees. In the spring there is the killing frost of the blossoms too.

The cumulative effect would have denied Wally and Auntie Kay the prosperous farm where they fed themselves and their four children. Wally chose to fight the beavers, the mice, the insects, and the killing frosts. He didn’t just throw up his hands and say ” God is in control and we have nothing to do with it.”

Are we going to say, “God is in charge of climate change and there is nothing we can do?” Or are we going to say, I’m going to do all I can to control my own sphere of influence?” I’m going to choose the latter, I hope you will too.