A Natural Cause of Greenhouse Gas | The Institute for Creation Research

A Natural Cause of Greenhouse Gas

Data collected through the 1980s and 1990s strongly suggested that the earth was warming.1 Some scientists believe the phenomenon is man-made (anthropogenic), primarily due to fossil fuel combustion that, we are told, emits greenhouse gases. Other researchers are convinced that the warming trend was caused naturally, perhaps by an increase in the sun's radiation.2 Resolution of these debates seems a long way off, but a new discovery may add weight to the idea that the earth and everything in and around it, including the atmosphere, was designed by God.

Oceanographer David Karl at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa has recently been examining a problem called the "methane enigma." There has been a mysteriously high concentration of methane in the ocean's surface waters, indicating that this gas was being produced in the sea. Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and fortunately maintains an atmospheric blanketing layer that supports life on earth. Many scientists fear that too much methane in the atmosphere, however, would cause too thick a blanket and that this could become potentially harmful to the planet.

The methane enigma has now been at least partially solved. According to Karl's research, bacteria are converting methylphosphonates into methane in the oceans.3 The methane diffuses from there into the atmosphere. We have long known that bacteria help to maintain a proper balance of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen levels in the atmosphere. Bacteria are now known to play a vital role in maintaining methane levels as well. This makes sense within the creation science model--a loving God created a robust atmosphere, complete with bacterial systems that balance amounts of atmospheric gases in order to support life.

References

  1. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Accessed online July 10, 2008. Since 1998, earth's temperature has not been warming, and in January 2008 the temperature dramatically sank. See also "January 2008--4 sources say 'globally cooler' in the past 12 months" on the Watts Up With That? website, accessed July 10, 2008.
  2. Over 9,000 Americans with PhDs in science have signed the Global Warming Petition Project to voice their disagreement with the anthropogenic theory of the cause of global warming. Accessed online July 10, 2008.
  3. New Pathway For Methane Production In The Oceans Discovered. Science News. Posted on ScienceDaily.com on July 4, 2008, accessed July 10, 2008.

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer.

Article posted July 16, 2008.

The Latest
NEWS
Reformation Day, October 31
Five hundred years ago in Wittenberg, Germany, an unusual scholar changed the course of human history using pen and hammer. Dr. Martin Luther protested...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Owls
by Sydney Walters and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
RNA Hoops: When Circular Reasoning Makes Sense
If the regulatory picture of the genome were not complicated enough, over the past decade scientists have discovered another level of Darwinian-defying...

ACTS & FACTS
Gunnison National Forest: Adaptable Aspens and Warped Rocks
Gunnison National Forest’s 1.67-millionplus acres showcase stunning views of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The Continental Divide forms its eastern...

ACTS & FACTS
Applying the Theory of Biological Design to Optimal Owl Flight
by Randy J. Guliuzza, P.E., M.D., and Aaron T. Guliuzza, P.E.*   If the greatest writers had been well-versed in fields of science,...

ACTS & FACTS
The Jaw-Dropping Design in Hawaii's State Fish
Hawaiians call their state fish the humuhumunukunukuapua’a, or humuhumu for short, and snorkelers marvel at its wild paint job as it flits...

ACTS & FACTS
A Journey to the Truth of Creation
I recently had lunch with the chief academic officer of a local Christian university. As we connected over our meal, I could see his excitement about...

NEWS
Creation's Bullseye
The first sentence in a recent evolutionary news story set the stage for the rest of the article: “Flowers like hibiscus use an invisible blueprint...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
The Fascinating Feathers of Our Flying Friends | Creation.Live...
Birds are incredible creatures, able to fly and migrate with ease. Beyond that, their feathers are exceptionally designed, allowing our avian friends...

NEWS
Is a Spiny Slug the Mollusc's Ancestor?
The phylum Mollusca (molluscs) is an amazing1 and diverse assemblage of invertebrates. It includes squids, clams, tusk shells, octopuses,...