In Brief...World News Review: Hottest Month in History Since Records Began
Heat wave....global warming or no?
"This was the hottest July in the history of the world since modern records have been kept." These are the somber words of no less a personage than American Vice-President Al Gore. Clearly this record heat wave has impacted many parts of the world. In the United States, Dallas, with temperatures right at or in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit for some 20 or more consecutive days, was the center of a very unusual nation-wide heatwave, with many devastating spin-off effects.
In tiny Israel the southern portion experienced 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Italy's heatwave has brought forest fires and dangerous increases in smog levels. Even the Russian Arctic has been affected by the heat, although welcome in this case.
Some observers blame global warming for the unusually hot weather around the Northern Hemisphere. Among those are Vice-President Gore who stated: "The data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration means world temperature records have been shattered every month since the beginning of the year. When you break the record seven months in a row it is really hard to ignore the fact that something is going on-and that something is global warming" (emphasis ours).
But some scientists are not so sure and have blown hot and cold on the threat of global warming, citing conflicting evidence from weather satellites. Whatever the truth of the matter, scorching heat from the sun will be one of the seven vials of punishment poured out on the earth in the future (Revelation 16:8-9). The Daily Mail, August 11 (quotes by Al Gore); The Times August 3 and 13; Daily Telegraph July 31; Newsweek August 3; Jewish Chronicle August 14.
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John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
