I generally like to share what I have discovered about the ways that we can live more gently upon God’s good earth. But every once in a while we need to focus on what’s at stake so we become even more motivated. Since the Industrial Revolution began 300 years ago, we humans have been changing the earth’s climate, and not in a good way.
I have four grandchildren. I fear with Dan Lennon that “Greta Thunberg is right. By being heedless of the consequences of our actions, we are destroying our children’s future, and there is no way for them to get it back.” In his articlhttps://emagazine.com/the-next-30-years-fasten-your-seat-belts-were-in-for-a-bumpy-ride/ on how we are destroying their future, he provides charts on all the ways we are pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere.
The Guardian newspaper also has set up a “dashboard” of charts where we can keep track of global temperature change, atmospheric CO2, Greenland ice melt, ocean level rise, and arctic ice extent. Each chart is accompanied by an article to read for deeper understanding.
What has the U.S. been doing about this? Watch this video from Grist “Four Years of Climate Change,” to get an admittedly biased overview. The kind of political direction seen in this film doesn’t have to be, even with conservative lawmakers. Advocacy is really important. If we really want to change the movement toward climate disaster we need to be writing and calling our representatives and supporting conservation organizations and creation care movements.
But I don’t really want to thunder on like an Old Testament prophet and leave you feeling hopeless. There have been two books recently published that share messages of hope and propose solutions. “All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis,” edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and
Katharine Keeble Wilkinson is a collection of essays by “women at the forefront of the climate movement who are harnessing truth, courage, and solutions to lead humanity forward.” (Goodreads review) Bill Gates shares a decade of researching climate solutions in his new book, “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster.” Gates “sets out a wide-ranging, practical–and accessible–plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe.” (E: The Environmental Magazine)
Finally, if you want to have a little fun and test your knowledge of what we can do about climate change, take this quiz from CNN https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/04/specials/climate-change-solutions-quiz/ on the most effective way to curb climate change.
You can find this and all the Creation Care blogs for the church website I have written at a consolidating blog I have created: ststephenscreationcare.blogspot.com
Thanks for your interest in caring for God’s creation!
