Synchronicity: Creation Care, Legislation, World Meetings, and the Gospel

Sometimes several things come together at once in a way that help us to see something we had overlooked or not seen clearly enough. For years, climate scientists have been warning us about global warming. For months, reports have appeared saying that the earlier predictions had been too conservative, and that climate change is happening more rapidly and dramatically than these scientists had expected.

Several things have happened in recent weeks that are helping more people become aware of the problem we face and the changes we could make that would lessen the severity of the problem. U.S. News has an article about the role of American religious groups in pushing for climate change legislation. Awareness of creation care as a fundamental piece of overall stewardship is growing. Out of that awareness has come action to urge the Senate to pass a major piece of climate change legislation this fall.

The timing of such a bill is important, as December brings the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen. You might recall from an earlier post that this conference is considered extremely important because of the point we have reached with climate change; this may be the last chance to begin to reverse climate change before its effects are devastating for life as we know it on our planet. There are more voices saying this now. In a piece called “Copenhagen or Bust” that appeared in the September 28, 2009 issue of Newsweek, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “If we miss this opportunity, there will be no second chance sometime in the future, no later way to undo the catastrophic damage to the environment we will cause.”

Leading up to the Copenhagen conference, there was a UN Summit on Climate Change held in New York on September 22. This was the biggest gathering ever of political leaders to discuss climate change, indicating the growing urgency and awareness of the issue. One hundred heads of state and governments gathered for this summit. President Nasheed of the Republic of the Maldives was one of the people who addressed the gathering. His island country is facing the possibility of disappearing as the oceans rise. His words are sobering:


The Gospel lesson for September 20 (Mark 9: 30-37) ended up being especially appropriate for a week in which such things were discussed at such a high level meeting. Preparing a sermon for St. Mark’s on the Campus for that Sunday, I thought about the people living on low-lying islands, in far northern villages built on melting permafrost, in the lowest-lying coastal areas around the world where so many of the poorest people in the world live. “Today’s lesson suggests that good discipleship calls for us to ask the hard questions, to set aside our own desires for status and power, and to welcome – to notice and build relationship with – the people who are most easily pushed aside and overlooked in our world. A big piece of discipleship today involves good stewardship of the environment, because the first and worst effects of pollution and climate change usually fall on the most vulnerable people in the world.”

These weeks that lead up to Copenhagen have more Good News from Mark that can help guide our decisions and thinking about climate change: the rich man’s difficulty in letting go of his treasure so he can live into the greater treasure of the kingdom of God, the importance of serving others instead of lording it over them, and the commandment to love God and one’s neighbor. These passages help us to find our way in a world in which we Americans are the people with wealth and power, and others in the world stand to lose all they have if we misuse our wealth and power.

The importance of the growing role of religious groups in the conversation about the environment may end up being not so much the addition of more voices urging our Senators – and our representatives at Copenhagen – to take action, important though that is, but the reminder of why we should care, and the voice of hope that God will give us the will and the means to do the right thing once we make the decision to be better stewards of God’s creation.

Meanwhile, more talks leading up to Copenhagen are occurring in Bangkok this week. The Philippines and Viet Nam are dealing with big floods from Typhoon Ketsana, and more storms are forming that could hit the Philippines again. There has been speculation that these huge rains could be related to climate change. That’s probably no more than speculation, but the sort of damage and loss of life we are seeing do give us a glimpse of what the future holds if we do nothing to avert major climate change.


Given everything that is happening this fall – all of the above along with things like the good opportunities to connect with God's creation in Nebraska in the fall, and our approaching Annual Council in North Platte – the plan here at Green Sprouts is to increase the frequency of posts on the blog for the next several weeks. Please send along anything that you think should be included in our conversation.

Learning Discipleship in the Grand Canyon

Sahra Harding, a third-year student at General Theological Seminary from the Diocese of Nebraska, gracioiusly agreed to write this week's post. Sahra shares some of what her experience living and working at the Grand Canyon this summer taught her about discipleship.

****

This past summer I had the opportunity to work at the Grand Canyon with a program for college students called A Christian Ministers in National Parks. As team leader for 16 undergraduate students who are currently involved with Christian ministry, I led theological discussion and mentored those interested in pursuing the field professionally. We came from different denominations and regions all over the country. For three months, we offered daily sunset worship services along the rim of the Canyon. I also worked for the park in their gift store in customer service, which was a fantastic opportunity for informal ministry. During my two years in seminary in New York city I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a disciple and uphold the principles of stewardship that are involved with that way of being. Working on a team, honoring God’s creation through regular worship, and sitting among the 180 million year old walls of the canyon taught me a lot about discipleship.

Living at the canyon lit all kinds of fires in my soul this summer. When walking bare foot on the bare earth, I felt the give in the dirt. I could sense the primal relationship we have with the dust, a truth about formation that we are reminded of each Lenten season. It is not the same experience of walking on the concrete, even with rubber soles; this just becomes two more layers of separation between who we are and the earth that created us. Being in constant movement and working to make Christ available to people through constant interaction requires a certain kind of energy. Of all the moments that spurred my growth this summer, both in the community, and when I was alone peering into the canyon, one in particular sticks out in my mind.

My final hike of the summer was to a site called Dripping Springs. This is a very difficult hike, more difficult than I expected. I was limited on time, and more than once I considered just stopping and turning back so that I would not be late for my afternoon obligations. Still, I was convinced I could make it if I just kept going and stopped standing still trying to peer ahead and find the final destination with my eyes, which could not be done, the Springs were that well hidden.

At one point the path changed and became much less clear. I suddenly heard someone yelling. I had not seen anyone on the path since I began walking; it is not a popular hike. I looked up to see a Ranger who was trying to call me back onto the path, which I had veered from without realizing it. She was headed in the opposite direction and had somehow spotted me losing my course. Hikers are frequently warned to not veer from the path because the Canyon is vast and steep and such excursions are often fatal. I worried that she thought I was being deviant. I quickly forgot my worry in the midst of my relief, though, because she gave me back a sense of direction. If she had not appeared right then, I would have surely gotten stuck and lost too much time to continue; I also might have run out of water and in that desert heat this is an ongoing concern. With help, I found the path again and started back up. Soon after she left, however, I lost the path again. I could hear the Springs, but I still could not see them. It seemed like the sound was coming from one direction, so I went that way figuring I didn’t need the path, but the further I went the harder it became to hear it and I soon found myself among a series of boulders that would be extremely difficult to get over. I decided I would have to climb straight up out of the pit and likely head back out of the canyon. It was steep and slippery with cactus everywhere, but I could not figure another way. Fortunately, at the top of the mound, I recognized the path again.

I found myself turning the whole adventure into a symbol for the journey of a disciple. This realization infused me with a sense of how often we try to find our way without consideration for the work that has been done before us for our sake and for the sake of all followers. Perhaps we do things without consideration of the impact it will have on what surrounds us. But the fact of the matter is that we do well to heed the instructions from those before us. We lose nothing in the journey because we are always the pioneer of our own soul. Christ is always waiting to be discovered in our midst, so why not permit ourselves to walk that way and save ourselves from unnecessary thirst?
When I came upon the Springs, the meeting was that much sweeter because I had joined the steps of so many to bring a sacred space into view; the site seemed full from that shared vision that so many diligent hikers had viewed, and now I had seen it too. A stream of water, the vitality of the earth, invited me to cool my face. The planet is not just a resource after all, not just some temporary holding cell for our souls to which we have no influence or connection; it is a living teacher and it speaks to us often. These times of global strain have made it clear to me that we must enter this cosmic conversation with the full force of Christian love and discipleship.

All God's Children

One last unexpected summer trip for me coming right up against the beginning of fall semester has delayed this post a few days. It’s been an unusual start to the transition from summer toward fall for many of us given weather that is cooler and rainier than our usual, and a flu virus at the beginning of the school year. However, somehow we find ourselves at the beginning of September. Sitting here on my porch in Hastings, I’m already seeing monarch butterflies stopping by my coneflowers on their way south, and squirrels burying winter food. It’s time to transition to fall whether at school, in the parish, or at home.

Climate bill

I had thought my summer travels were all done when I got an invitation to a White House briefing on energy. This was a regional briefing for people from Midwestern and mid-Atlantic states. It was an opportunity for us to hear from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and others from the administration about their energy agenda and the expected outcomes for consumers, agriculture, commerce, and the climate if the Senate approves HR 2454, the climate bill, this fall. Secretary Vilsack said that he has not seen this sort of opportunity for rural America in his lifetime. A preliminary analysis from the USDA’s Chief Economist of the economic impacts of HR 2454 for agriculture seems to bear out this optimism.

Copenhagen climate conference
Looking beyond fall into December, there is hope that a climate bill will be passed before President Obama goes to the UN climate conference in Copenhagen; it will be difficult for the United States to be in a leadership role at this conference if we don’t have some sort of significant legislation in place. More seriously for people of all nationalities, if this conference gets stalled and cannot reach a significant agreement among the nations that share this planet, it may be difficult or perhaps just plain too late to stop climate change before it reaches the point of having devastating effects on all living things on Earth.

More evidence of climate change
A study of the Arctic climate in yesterday's issue of Science magazine shows the magnitude of the response of the Arctic climate to global warming. An article by Andrew Revkin in the New York Times quotes Dr. Jonathan Overpeck, one of the study’s authors and a climate scientist at the University of Arizona: “The fast rate of recent warming is the scary part. It means that major impacts on Arctic ecosystems and global sea level might not be that far off unless we act fast to slow global warming.” Time is growing short to get serious about climate change.

The Christian response
Our readings from the Revised Common Lectionary for this Sunday, though, suggest other reasons for Christians to advocate for changes in energy technology, transportation, agricultural practices, and many other areas of our lives so that the effects of climate change can be minimized. While every living thing on earth will be affected by climate change, among the human community the earliest effects and the most suffering will be experienced by the people who already are the poorest people in the world.

This Sunday’s reading from Proverbs reminds us that “the rich and poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all.” The poorest people on our planet are God’s children just as we are; their lives are more precious than our convenience. James, talking about the folly of dishonoring the poor, says that there is no good in our saying we care about others – in telling them to “Go in peace” – if we aren’t willing to make sure others are clothed and fed. The passage from Mark’s Gospel is a turning point in Jesus’ ministry, when Jesus recognizes the depth of the faith of a Syrophoenician woman, someone from a different culture who claims her place in God’s kingdom.

When our brothers and sisters who live in Arctic villages or on Pacific islands, in easily flooded places like Bangladesh, in Africa where famine and malaria will increase with global warming, are living increasingly marginalized lives as climate change accelerates, we Christians are called to take notice and do what we can to prevent their suffering. We are all on this planet together. Ultimately, all of humanity will suffer if climate change cannot be stopped. But in the next half century or so, it will be the poorest people who bear the brunt of the burden. Per capita, the United States has the largest carbon output of any nation; we are the rich people in this story. As Christians, we know how Christ would have us treat the poorer people who share our world.

We have much to gain for ourselves by turning to new energy technologies and capping our carbon output, and, just as importantly, we have much to gain for the poorest people with whom we share the Earth.

All Things Wise and Wonderful

The last two Green Sprouts posts looked at some of the species that are in danger of extinction from the impact of the way we human beings are living on our shared planet. These endangered species are some of those bright and beautiful things, those “creatures great and small”, that we sing about in Hymn 405, “All things bright and beautiful.” Cecil Frances Alexander, the writer of the hymn, reminds us that “the Lord God made them all”.

The creation stories in Genesis tell us not only that God created the world and all the living things on the Earth, but that God gave humankind a special role in caring for our planet and the other creatures with whom we share “this fragile earth, our island home”. We know now not only that careful human stewardship can enhance the possibility of survival for other species, but also that the simple presence of a diversity of other living things optimizes conditions for human survival. Biodiversity is not an aesthetic luxury that we can sacrifice for economic gain or even short-term survival without grave consequences; biodiversity is essential for the health of human beings.

While many scientists predict an increase in the rate of species extinction as global warming increases, and while it’s a very serious situation, it isn’t without hope. For example, a recent study had both bad news – that many species of saltwater fish continue to be threatened by overfishing – and good news – that careful management of certain regions of the ocean had been able to turn things around. In other words, intentional stewardship allows us to live in harmony with other living things!

Another piece of this story is that the research was done jointly by marine ecologists and fisheries management scientists, two communities whose interests are often at variance with each other. By learning to look at this problem cooperatively rather than in a polarized way, these researchers were able to see a bigger picture than either community could see alone. In other words, when we love our enemies, when we humans learn to live together and work together well, all of creation can benefit.

In a very general yet very profound way, the most important thing that we human beings might do to maintain biodiversity and care for our fellow creatures is to live more fully into our humanity: to live peacefully with one another, to love and respect one another, and to be intentional about stewardship. When we are wise and wonderful human beings, it’s good both for us and for God’s other creatures.

We already know a lot of the specific actions that can help prevent species extinction. As I’ve learned more about species extinction in recent weeks, it seems to me that some of the biggest threats, which are interrelated, are global warming, overuse of living things (such as overfishing, or overcutting of forests), destruction of habitat, and pollution. Any actions we take to stop and then reverse these things are actions that help prevent multiple species extinctions.

Reducing our carbon footprint as individuals and as a society and a species is the key to reducing global warming. We can be good stewards by reducing our energy consumption and by doing what we can to encourage a decreased dependence on fossil fuels and the development of cleaner energy sources.

One of the most useful tools for people in landlocked Nebraska who want to do something about the depletion and extinction of creatures in the ocean is the seafood guide from Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. There is a detailed guide to seafood recommendations on their website, and also a pocket-sized Seafood Watch guide that can be downloaded and printed to take along to the supermarket or restaurants to help select seafood that is caught in ecologically responsible ways. There is a pocket guide specifically for the Central U.S.!

There are local efforts we can make to address habitat destruction. When we landscape the yards of our homes or churches, we can keep other creatures in mind. A monocrop of bluegrass is not a good environment for animals and birds. Reducing the area in bluegrass and devoting some parts of the yard to native plants helps wildlife to thrive. When we do this, we are often rewarded by seeing visiting butterflies, birds, and small mammals enjoying these less “manicured” areas.

Plastic bags are a form of pollution that continues to be a hazard to all sorts of creatures. Take your own reusable shopping bags with you whenever possible. If plastic bags are the only option from time to time, we can recycle them or at least ensure that when they are thrown “away” they cannot be blown up into a tree or off into a waterway to eventually empty into the sea. Air and water pollution of any sort are not good for living things!

The daily decisions we make as consumers add up. We can be careful about the products we buy and use, finding out what we can about the raw materials used in their production or manufacture, the ways they are shipped, and how big an impact their use will have on the environment. Similarly, we can think about our transportation options and practice good stewardship in this area. We can consider our landscaping and its effects on our fellow creatures. We can be wise and wonderful human beings, good stewards of God’s creation.

...All (Sea) Creatures Great and Small

“Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number, creatures both small and great. There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it.” (Psalm 104: 25-27)

The Psalmist says the living things in the seas are too many to number; in the creation story in the first chapter of Genesis, God says, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures…” Somehow we have gone from thinking of marine plants and animals as existing in swarms too dense and too great in size to number to pondering the effects of very reduced numbers of some of these creatures. Those ships that move in the sea along with Leviathan have a lot to do with this, especially the ships that bring fishermen who engage in overfishing, bottom trawling, or other practices that can destroy habitat. The rest of us have a lot to do with it also, though, as we eat the fairly inexpensive fish that get caught by the bottom trawlers, as our increased carbon dioxide emissions cause ocean acidification (particularly harmful to shellfish), and as plastic bags and other trash get blown into inland waterways and eventually find their way to the ocean to be ingested by marine animals.

A variety of species of fish, coral, whales, and dolphins are on lists of endangered species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List website has a search feature; the search can be as general as ‘fish’ or ‘coral’, or can be a search for a specific species. The Psalmist was amazed by the number of species found in the sea; today, some of us are amazed by the number of ocean species that are in danger of becoming extinct.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium devotes some of its website to an effort they call "Seafood Watch". More information on habitat damage, overfishing, bycatch (fishermen catching and discarding fish and animals that play important roles in marine ecosystems), and the role of aquaculture is available on the “Ocean Issues – What’s Troubling Our Waters” page.

The health of our oceans and other waters is necessary to the health of our planet, and to humankind. The depletion and extinction of ocean species especially affects poorer people living along coasts or on islands who depend on fish and other seafood as a protein source. This is a key reason why environmental sustainability is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Because God told human beings to care for the Earth, and because we delight in these creatures, it is spiritually dangerous to do nothing about the major changes taking place in the waters. Because the ocean is a major food source both for those of us who have other options for protein and for some of the world’s poorest people who depend on fish and seafood as a food source, it is dangerous to our physical health and also politically dangerous to remain unaware and unresponsive to the crisis in our oceans.

The next post about what we can do to minimize species extinction will include the good news about the oceans: evidence that conservation efforts and changes in fishing techniques can restore collapsed populations of fish. We inland consumers can help by making good choices about the seafood we eat.

All Things Bright and Beautiful...

As the impact of humans on land habitats, on oceans, rivers, and lakes, and on the overall climate increases, we hear more about species extinction. It’s difficult to grasp the true meaning of the extinction of an entire species. It’s one thing for us to see fewer individuals of some species or another than we used to see, but quite another thing to realize that no human being will ever again see an example of that species. Some scientists think that if there is no great change in the way humans care for creation, half of all species of living things on the Earth will be extinct by the end of this century.

This post talks about species that live primarily on land or in the air. Next post will look at what is happening in the oceans, and a final post in this set will look at some of the things we humans can do to minimize species extinction and keep these grim predictions from becoming fact.

A few days ago, I was sitting outside listening to the morning bird chorus in my neighborhood – cardinals, doves, and a Carolina wren among them – and suddenly thought about what it would be like to sit outside and never hear any birds. What if these birds became extinct? What if they disappeared not only from my neighborhood, but I knew there was nowhere in the world where I could go to hear these familiar songs? Wouldn’t it seem lonely to lose that background of song, chatter, and splashes of color?

Some of the more familiar birds in North America have declined greatly in numbers. Using numbers from annual bird counts since 1967, the Audubon Society has compiled a list of twenty common birds in decline, including the Eastern meadowlark (cousin to our state bird), the common tern, and the whip-poor-will.

Besides the birds, there are all the other animals: from polar bears to the Tasmanian devils in Australia, from the Caspian seal to Holdridge’s toad in Costa Rica (not seen since 1986), we face the possibility of losing some of our companions on this planet, maybe during our own lifetimes.

Scientists know some things about how the disappearance of entire species of animals and plants affect the remaining species in a habitat. At some point, depending on the habitat and the sorts of things that become extinct, this can have a cascading sort of effect. Something that feeds on a plant, insect, or small animal that has become extinct also becomes endangered; something that was the prey of a now distinct predator increases in numbers, perhaps endangering another species by an upset of the ecological balance in the habitat. Ultimately, of course, the survival of our own species is linked to the survival of others.

The question of human survival alone should be enough to make us pay attention to what is happening and find the will to make changes to help avert this ecological disaster. But apart from that, there is the question of our charge from God to care for creation, for the other animals and the plants. The possibility of losing a large number of species of other living things impacts our spiritual health as much as our physical survival. This is God’s creation; experiencing the wonder and beauty of God’s creation can connect us with God, revealing the presence of The Holy. The other animals and plants are more than a means of physical survival; they are companions that can reveal something of their Creator, something of God. Without them, the world would be a very lonely place even if we were able to find a way to survive.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) publishes an annual list Red List of Threatened Species. Their website includes a section of case studies of particular animals, including a few encouraging stories of animals whose survival chances increased after strong conservation efforts were begun. A video from the 2008 World Conservation Congress opening summarizes the challenge and lets the viewer see many of the endangered species.

Extra Bits: Ogallala Aquifer Report

The print edition of today's Lincoln Journal Star carries this headline for a story about a new U.S. Geological Survey study of the Ogallala Aquifer: “Aquifer’s OK…for now”. The report basically says that the water in the aquifer is generally acceptable for human consumption, irrigation, and livestock watering. That’s the good news, and it’s very good news considering our dependence in Nebraska on this great water source.

However, the study warns that heavy use of the water is resulting in gradual increases in contaminants such as nitrates that, if continued, will make the water unusable. Because of the nature of the aquifer, reversal of such contamination would be extremely slow. The report is available at pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1337 .

Good stewardship of water resources is vital! God has given us many gifts, many resources, including this great water resource in the middle of our continent. If we care for them and use them wisely, they will bless us for many more generations to come; if we use them carelessly, future generations will not know the quality of life that we are privileged to know.