Sadly, humanity hasn't always followed the instruction God gave to Adam (and through him to the whole human race). Instead, people have often been willing to neglect and damage our planet because of laziness or the lure of financial gain. Recent history has seen serious incidents of oil tankers spilling their cargo and thereby soiling pristine waters and endangering wildlife. Toxic waste sites remind us of accidents that occurred in dealing with nuclear energy, while polluted streams and bodies of water are the evidence of the improper or illegal disposal of chemicals.

In contrast to the ugliness and death caused by pollution, the color of growing things, green, has come to represent anything associated with protecting our planet from contamination and destruction.

Believing that emissions of various gases are causing global warming, many developed countries have agreed to limit carbon dioxide and five other "greenhouse gases" in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol—an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on Dec. 11, 1997. Yet support for this effort is not universal. Some question the science behind climate change research.

In fact, 31,000 Americans who hold college degrees in science have signed the Global Warming Petition, which claims: "There is no convincing evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate." These skeptics further believe, "The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind."

In spite of the debate over global warming, what should a Christian do? From the instruction given by God to Adam to "tend and keep" his environment, we know that we need to be careful not to needlessly squander the earth's resources or ­pollute our land. But in contrast to those who believe human efforts can ultimately solve all environmental concerns, the Bible foretells a different scenario.

After a time of trouble that will include major wars, famine, disease and cataclysmic upheaval in nature, a new era will dawn in which the earth will become extremely green—that is, far more fertile and productive than imaginable today. This greening of the earth will also be characterized by an amazing upgrade in human nature and the replacement of corrupt governments with righteous rulers who will truly serve their people. In this issue, we're delighted to focus on this amazing greening of the earth promised by God Himself. VT