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<p><i><font size="+1"><b>June 27, 2021</b></font></i></p>
[come'on GMA, tell us the cause of global warming - CO2 pollution]<br>
<b>Unprecedented extreme heat in Pacific Northwest causes dangerous
conditions | GMA</b><br>
Jun 26, 2021<br>
Good Morning America<br>
Seattle and Portland could see temperatures never before recorded.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgHJGB0aPZI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgHJGB0aPZI</a><br>
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</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[from Outside magazine]<br>
<b>How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate Change</b><br>
Here’s what to do when your little one brings up sea-level rise,
extinction, wildfires, and other ecological griefs<br>
Krista Langlois - Jun 26, 2021<br>
When my daughter was a few weeks old, a wildfire broke out near our
home in southwest Colorado. The previous winter had been one of the
driest on record, and the fire quickly burned out of control. Each
night, as smoke crept through the cracks of our home, I cradled
Josephine’s tiny body and worried about her developing lungs.
Eventually we fled.<br>
<br>
Drought and wildfires are intensifying as the climate warms, and
scientists say they’ll only get worse. According to the most recent
federal climate report, just under half of the United States is
experiencing some degree of drought, including 88 percent of the
West, which is seeing record-breaking heat waves and water
shortages. The same types of unsustainable human behaviors driving
climate change are also polluting the world with plastic, wreaking
havoc in our oceans, and pushing roughly a million plant and animal
species toward extinction. A colleague recently told me that her
five-year-old was “seriously bereft” after learning about
extinction; she grieved the loss of animals she’d never seen as
acutely as she might grieve the loss of a pet.<br>
<br>
Clearly, our children are affected both physically and emotionally
by the mess we’ve made of our planet. So how do we talk to them
about climate change, wildfires, extinction, and other sources of
ecological grief? How do we explain these issues in ways that are
honest and easy to grasp but don’t leave our children mired in
despair?<br>
<br>
To get some guidance, I called Emily Fischer, an atmospheric
scientist with Colorado State University and cofounder of Science
Moms, a nonpartisan group that provides information to help families
understand and combat climate change. Fischer also has two
daughters, ages six and nine, and like my family, they’ve been
impacted by wildfire: after literally running from a fire on a
backpacking trip last year, her daughters are now afraid to be in
the backcountry. Here’s how Fischer has helped them process that
trauma and understand the realities of our warming world.<br>
<b><br>
</b><b>Validate Their Feelings</b><br>
Brushing off children’s ecological grief as melodramatic—or trying
to cheer them up by changing the subject—sends the message that the
situation isn’t dire or even that nature isn’t worth saving.
Instead, teach them that nature is precious by validating their
feelings. When Fischer’s older daughter came home from school crying
after learning about climate change, Fischer told her, “Yes this is
real, and yes that’s an appropriate reaction. This is that big of a
deal.” It’s totally fair for children to feel sad, scared, or angry
about issues that affect their own well-being and that of places and
animals they love.<br>
<br>
<b>Use Outside Resources</b><br>
Children learn best through stories, and there are plenty of
age-appropriate books, TV shows, and other resources that can help
them grasp environmental issues. For teaching young kids about
climate change and extinction, check out The Tantrum That Changed
the World, The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge or The
Lonely Polar Bear. The website Social Justice Books also maintains a
list of recommended books about climate justice and environmental
issues for children, organized by age group. And for teens—who may
already know more about these topics than you do—Fischer recommends
pointing them toward trusted first hand sources like NASA or NOAA so
they can see the data for themselves, rather than read someone’s
interpretation of it on social media. <br>
<br>
<b>Give Them a Sense of Agency and Hope</b><br>
One thing Fischer emphasizes when talking to her own kids about
climate change is that the problem can be fixed if we take action
now. “I remind them that we caused it and we know the solution and
the solution is that we stop burning fossil fuels,” Fischer says.
She also explains that while real change requires global shifts in
policy and energy production, individual actions also matter.
Depending on kids’ ages, things like walking or biking to school,
eating less meat, expressing themselves through art, sharing
information through school projects, or even writing to elected
officials are all ways they can help. <br>
<br>
<b>Start Early</b><br>
Most kids will eventually learn about climate change and extinction
in school or from the media, so start preparing them beforehand.
“Even preschoolers are ready to start learning about responsibility
for the planet,” Fischer says. For them, begin by teaching them to
love nature (by spending time outside!), which will inspire them to
want to protect it. You can also explain to them that a lot of
things people use, like our cars, pollute the air, which is bad. And
don’t forget to reassure them that you’re working to make the planet
safe and clean.<br>
<br>
<b>Educate Yourself</b><br>
Eventually, your kids are bound to ask questions that you don’t know
the answers to, and it's best to hold off on answering until you can
find accurate information. You can also prepare for their inevitably
wise queries by reading books like All We Can Save, a collection of
essays by women who work on climate change. And give yourself the
same grace you give your kids—find reasons to be hopeful and joyous
even in the face of devastating news.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.outsideonline.com/2424157/wild-child-cookbook-sarah-glover">https://www.outsideonline.com/2424157/wild-child-cookbook-sarah-glover</a><br>
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[Heat, ozone and PM2.5 - and don't forget stress]<br>
<b>Heat waves can be life-threatening — for more reasons than one</b><br>
How heat and air pollution make a dangerous public health duo.<br>
Alexandria Herr - Jun 25, 2021<br>
One of the most extreme heat waves ever recorded baked the American
West last week, with 40 million Americans affected by temperatures
soaring above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Deemed a “mega-heat wave,” it
broke temperature records over a century old. And it’s not over yet
— this weekend is projected to bring another historic heat wave to
the Pacific Northwest, with temperatures forecasted at about 30
degrees F above average, breaking 100 degrees F in Seattle,
Portland, and Spokane. <br>
<br>
A mega-heat wave in the middle of a decades-long megadrought is the
reality of climate change in the American West. These boiling
temperatures come with major public health risks; heat waves are the
deadliest weather phenomenon in the United States, even when
compared to hurricanes and floods, causing an average of 138 deaths
per year since 1991. Climate change is increasing that statistic; on
average, more than a third of heat-related deaths globally are due
to climate change. These effects are not equally distributed in the
U.S. — due to the racist history of redlining and inequitable access
to green space and trees, people of color are disproportionately
affected by heat.<br>
<br>
The most obvious public health risk of heat waves is the risk of
heat exhaustion or heat stroke, especially for those who work
outside, including agricultural and construction workers, people
experiencing homelessness, and those living with poor ventilation or
without air conditioning. But that’s not the only public health risk
of heat waves. Along with heat also comes bad air quality, which
poses its own dangers. <br>
<br>
As temperatures climbed across the West last week, so did pollution
readings, including in Southern California, Texas, Phoenix, and
Denver. In Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
advised that people limit their time outside as ozone pollution
(commonly known as smog) reached levels dangerous for public health.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued ozone warnings
for six consecutive days in Dallas–Fort Worth.<br>
<br>
Ground-level ozone pollution forms when heat and sunlight trigger a
reaction between two other pollutants, nitrogen oxide and volatile
organic compounds — which come from cars, industrial facilities, and
oil and gas extraction. High temperatures therefore make ozone
pollution more likely to form and harder to clean up. Drought and
heat also increase the risk of wildfire, which can make air quality
worse as smoke drives up levels of fine particulate matter — also
known as PM2.5, or soot. <br>
<br>
During heat waves, the air also becomes stagnant, trapping
pollutants like ozone. “Everything – the pollution, the smoke, the
ozone – gets trapped right here where we live, and it gets sealed
in. It’s like a pot you put on a stove. It’s like putting a lid on
that pot, and everything down here gets trapped,” meteorologist
Chris Tomer said on local Denver news show FOX31 News. “The 100
degrees just keeps things kind of swirling down here, and we breathe
it in. We’ll rebreathe it, days and days out.” <br>
<br>
Both ozone and PM2.5 carry major health risks. Ozone can cause acute
symptoms, including coughing and inflamed airways, and chronic
effects, including asthma and increased diabetes risk. PM2.5
exposure can lead to an increased risk of asthma, heart attack, and
strokes. Globally, long-term exposure to PM2.5 caused one in five
deaths in 2018, including 350,000 deaths in the United States.<br>
<br>
If you’re affected by heat and air pollution, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, recommends drinking plenty
of water, wearing wide-brimmed hats with light clothing, avoiding
the outdoors and strenuous outdoor activity, learning the symptoms
of acute heat-related illnesses, and checking on those at risk —
including children, pregnant people, those who live alone, and the
elderly. (The CDC’s guides are also available in Spanish.)<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://grist.org/extreme-weather/heat-waves-can-be-life-threatening-for-more-reasons-than-one/">https://grist.org/extreme-weather/heat-waves-can-be-life-threatening-for-more-reasons-than-one/</a><br>
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[Even Siberia]<br>
<b>Ground Temperatures Hit 118 Degrees in the Arctic Circle</b><br>
The ongoing climate crisis is not going to spare Siberia.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://gizmodo.com/ground-temperatures-hit-118-degrees-in-the-arctic-circl-1847144505">https://gizmodo.com/ground-temperatures-hit-118-degrees-in-the-arctic-circl-1847144505</a><br>
- -<br>
[Copernicus Image of the Day]<br>
<b>Land Surface Temperature in the Sakha Republic</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.copernicus.eu/en/media/image-day-gallery/land-surface-temperature-sakha-republic">https://www.copernicus.eu/en/media/image-day-gallery/land-surface-temperature-sakha-republic</a><br>
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[heat, ozone, fire and locus]<br>
<b>Western drought brings another woe: voracious grasshoppers</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://apnews.com/article/droughts-science-government-and-politics-business-environment-and-nature-8c5863077b1e8f3876dd7d0b4426d27c">https://apnews.com/article/droughts-science-government-and-politics-business-environment-and-nature-8c5863077b1e8f3876dd7d0b4426d27c</a><br>
<p>- -</p>
[Read it here]<br>
<b>The Greater Yellowstone Climate Assessment</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.gyclimate.org/">http://www.gyclimate.org/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<br>
<b>Yellowstone: report reveals extent of climate threat to oldest US
national park</b><br>
Researchers say temperatures, already the highest in the past 20,000
years, could increase by up to 10F by 2100<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/25/yellowstone-national-park-climate-crisis">https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/25/yellowstone-national-park-climate-crisis</a><br>
<br>
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[interview the top scientist]<br>
Thom Hartmann - video interview<br>
June 25, 2021 <br>
<b>Atlantic Ocean: Subtle Shifts Hint at Dramatic Dangers (w/ Dr.
Michael Mann)</b><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://fb.watch/6moxInWi5e/">https://fb.watch/6moxInWi5e/</a><br>
<br>
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<br>
[Sunday lesson]<br>
<b>For some evangelical Christians, climate action is a God-given
mandate</b><br>
Does the Bible say to “subdue” the earth, or to care for creation?<br>
The first time I interviewed Matt Humphrey, we were driving in his
pickup truck through southern British Columbia, passing fields and
forests, only three miles from the U.S. border. Humphrey, then 31
years old, is a father of three and an evangelical Christian with a
keen appreciation for the Bible. He is also an environmentalist, one
who believes fighting climate change is a moral duty. <br>
<br>
On the 18-acre property we were heading to, Humphrey and others from
an evangelical Christian group called A Rocha (pronounced
a-RAH-shah) were growing organic crops, running Bible workshops, and
helping young people get out in nature to study species like salmon
in a river that flowed through their land. It’s called the
Brooksdale Environmental Centre, and Humphrey, 6-foot-3 with a broad
smile, was its assistant director at the time. I’ve been in touch
with Humphrey for a few years, and it was on our drive to Brooksdale
that he first described his faith to me — and how it shaped his
environmentalism. <br>
- -<br>
Humphrey grew up in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and moved to the
coast to study at Christopher Newport University, a public, secular
college in Newport News that drew many evangelical Christians from
the region. “I went to college during the [George W.] Bush years,”
he said, “when to be a Christian often meant having an American flag
decal on your car.” Humphrey understood the evangelicals who doubted
established science better than most, but when we caught up
recently, he told me even he didn’t see 2016 coming. “I was frankly
surprised by the success of Trump,” he said. Some friends back home
expressed skepticism over his involvement with A Rocha and
environmental issues. One told him that environmental groups were
part of a sinister plot, led by Al Gore, to seize power. <br>
<br>
Many younger evangelicals, however, are open to new ideas and appear
to accept the scientific evidence. One Pew study found a majority of
evangelical millennials support stricter environmental laws, and
groups like Young Evangelicals for Climate Action are leading the
charge. <br>
- -<br>
Humphrey has straddled these two worlds — right-wing politics and
evangelical environmentalism — and it provides him with a unique
perspective, as well as a potential bridge. He’s part of a group of
evangelicals who, with their embrace of mainstream science,
conservation, and environmental protections, don’t fit the
conservative stereotype.<br>
<br>
The definition of “evangelical” Christian isn’t always clear-cut. In
popular usage, it includes Protestants who take the Bible very
seriously, as much more than a collection of parables and ancient
history. But it may also encompass those who emphasize the
redemption of Jesus’s crucifixion, believe non-Christians need to be
converted, and that faith shouldn’t be divorced from politics. <br>
<br>
One thing many American evangelicals share is a skepticism of
climate science for reasons that include theology, politics, and a
hostility to the theory of evolution. Darwin’s theory, of course,
suggested that humans evolved over millennia through natural
selection and shared ancestors with modern apes, an idea which can’t
be easily squared with a belief that the Book of Genesis is a
fact-based origin story...<br>
- -<br>
How strong are these political influences? For a large segment of
evangelicals, “their statement of faith is written primarily by
their politics, and only secondarily by their faith,” said Katharine
Hayhoe, the prominent climate scientist and herself an evangelical
Christian, who was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential
people for her work bridging divides. “If the two come in conflict,
they will go with their politics over what they claim to believe.” <br>
<br>
But there remains a large segment of “theological evangelicals,” she
told me, “whose statement of faith is written by the Bible.” Those
are the people Humphrey wants to reach.<br>
<br>
In 1967, the historian Lynn White Jr. published a short essay in the
journal Science. “The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis”
argued that the Christian worldview could be blamed for the rapid
pace of environmental destruction. White wrote that the biblical
story of creation gave Christians an impetus to dominate the land.
Genesis, after all, called on people to “subdue” the Earth and to
have “dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the
air.” It was God’s will. White wrote that this dogma entrenched the
idea that the natural world served no purpose “save to serve man’s
purposes,” which influenced the development of modern technology and
the ecological crisis it wrought.<br>
<br>
White already saw climate change as a consequence of this worldview.
“Our present combustion of fossil fuels threatens to change the
chemistry of the globe’s atmosphere as a whole, with consequences
which we are only beginning to guess,” he wrote. <br>
<br>
The essay set off a debate that still burns today. Reams of papers
were written for and against, it remains a staple on university
reading lists, and it helped shape the field of environmental
ethics. The essay also prompted soul-searching among some
Christians, leading them to ask how they could embrace the growing
environmental movement. “It really is amazing how influential these
five pages from the journal of Science were,” Humphrey said, “and I
think that’s because many of White’s arguments struck a chord.” <br>
<br>
Over the next half-century, many Christians imbued their faith with
a concern for the natural world. To counter the idea of “dominion,”
they went back to the book of Genesis. The same story, they said,
asked people to “work and take care of” the land, and to “let the
birds increase on the earth.” Rather than interpreting the story of
creation as a license to dominate, these Christians consider it a
call to protect and steward the landscape...<br>
- -<br>
In his 2008 book Kingfisher’s Fire, Peter Harris laid out the
connection between his faith and the organization’s conservation
efforts, an explanation rooted in both science and caring for God’s
creation. “We believe our data can contribute to the survival of the
habitats and species we are studying,” he wrote. “Our work for the
care of nonhuman creation is important to its Creator.” A Rocha’s
moderate evangelical culture also stems, in part, from its British
roots, where the atmosphere is less politically charged compared to
the United States. <br>
<br>
Hayhoe, who has spoken at A Rocha’s events and acted as an advisor
to the organization, thinks the Bible makes this responsibility
clear. “If we really take the Bible seriously, we would be at the
front of the line demanding climate action,” she said. “For somebody
who is, at least, even partially a theological evangelical, who
actually takes the Bible seriously, that is a huge point of
connection.”<br>
<br>
Over the years, Humphrey’s own environmental awareness increased
through his work as a guide in British Columbia’s Coast Mountains,
and by reading stories of ecological destruction in magazines like
Orion and Mother Jones. Theology and the Bible also later shaped his
environmental worldview. And one day, not far from the Brooksdale
Environmental Centre, I visited the Columbia Bible College in
Abbotsford to watch Humphrey give a presentation on what’s known as
ecotheology.<br>
In front of students in their teens and 20s, Humphrey tried to
provide what he rarely had when he was younger: a biblical
perspective, free from partisan politics, that embraced the
scientific consensus around climate change and other environmental
issues. The room was packed, and I turned to a young couple behind
me, Glenn and Katie, to chat. For two people at a weekend talk on
ecotheology, they were pretty skeptical about the subject. “I
wouldn’t want my faith to enter my activism, because I’m ashamed of
the damage Christianity has caused over the centuries,” Katie said.
<br>
<br>
Humphrey also harbors his share of doubts. He would be the first to
tell you that people have used the Bible to justify horrible acts.
But he also thinks that Christians shouldn’t be bystanders to modern
ecological calamities, and that the Bible might be used to inspire
Christians to care for God’s creation. To illustrate this, he told
the students about the story of Naboth’s vineyard.<br>
<br>
In the Book of Kings, a man named Naboth was pressured by a wealthy
king, Ahab, to sell his land. Naboth refused because the soil
provided food for his family, and the land was an inheritance from
his ancestors. Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, then set up an elaborate ruse
which wound up with Naboth being executed and King Ahab getting the
vineyard. <br>
<br>
Humphrey described this story as a struggle between a defiant farmer
and a military ruler, and he believed this theme of resistance
echoed through other biblical stories in which agrarian people, in
tune with the land and the seasons, often had to fight powerful
Ahabs to protect what they had. He then drew a parallel to modern
times, describing how, around the world, land and natural resources
are often degraded and commodified by powerful people who put profit
before the needs of local communities. “We therefore need, now more
than ever, to recover the deep sense of our membership within, and
dependence upon, creation,” Humphrey said. “And we need to put this
into practice with concrete social and ecological action.”<br>
<br>
After he finished, the room buzzed with chatter, and I turned back
to Glenn and Katie to get their reaction. This time Glenn chimed in:
“You don’t often hear it said in this way, or with a call to action
like that.” Similar to Katie, though, he was hesitant about mixing
theology with environmental activism, and wondered if pointing to
Bible passages for support was the best idea. <br>
<br>
“It’s encouraging to know that there are parts of the tradition that
can be helpfully appropriated, but you can’t paint the whole Bible
with the same brush,” Glenn said. “I think some parts of the Bible
are downright problematic. For example, Naboth’s vineyard is an
awesome challenge to power, but there are many other instances where
people acquiesce to power.”<br>
<br>
Some, like Katie and Glenn, might be wary of involving religion in
environmental discussions. After all, Christianity and Islam
famously battled with science, and deeply religious civilizations
destroyed their natural environments. Yet the reality is that
religions still shape how a majority of people view the world.
Muslims, Christians, and Hindus together represent 5.2 billion
people, or two-thirds of the world’s population. <br>
<br>
For evangelicals concerned about climate change, questions of
morality seem to weigh as heavily as those of science. Humphrey
doesn’t only care about nature or creation — the scorched forests
and the melting polar ice caps — but also about the human fallout
from climate change in the decades ahead: Rising seas destroying the
homes of millions around the world, devastating droughts causing
millions more to go hungry. He often worries about how people will
respond when confronted with this version of the future. <br>
<br>
“What sort of people will we be if the CO2 in the atmosphere isn’t
easy to fix? What sort of people will we be if things get hard, like
scary hard?” Humphrey asked me. “What will hold us capable of living
lives of justice and love and goodness for the vulnerable, once the
illusion of safety and affluence slips?”<br>
<br>
Humphrey, at least, thinks the Christian church can help answer
these moral questions. For others, it could be Islam, Judaism, or
another religion. As climate change inflames divisions in society,
people like Humphrey believe the response requires not just solar
power, electric cars, and mass transit, but also teachings of love,
prayer, and forgiveness.<br>
It was in this spirit that more than 70 Christian leaders, climate
scientists, and government officials gathered in 2002 at the
University of Oxford to discuss the threat of global warming and how
to reconcile their response with Christian imperatives, as Katharine
Wilkinson described in her book, Between God and Green. Drawing on
both science and ecotheology, they produced the “Oxford Declaration
on Global Warming.” It urged Christians to confront climate change,
for scientific reasons as well as moral ones. After all, the effects
of climate change, like severe drought, storms, and rising sea
levels, disproportionately hurt the world’s poor. To “love thy
neighbor as thyself,” they reasoned, should also mean to help them.
<br>
<br>
This shift in thinking and growing public concern for the
environment opened the way for the Evangelical Climate Initiative
and its 2006 “Call to Action.” Similar to the Oxford Declaration but
with a focus on evangelicals, the “Call to Action” brought formerly
reluctant evangelical leaders together over climate change. The
statement acknowledged that they took a while to accept the
seriousness of the crisis, but ultimately they were “convinced that
evangelicals must engage this issue.” <br>
<br>
Megachurch pastors with tens of thousands of followers, like Joel
Hunter and Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, soon signed on.
This evangelical movement has faced a backlash from many
congregations across the country, and it hasn’t broken the
connection between climate-denying Republicans and most
evangelicals, but new ways of thinking have taken root. <br>
<br>
With an audience of billions, pastors like Hunter and Warren, along
with priests, imams, and rabbis, could be powerful advocates for
climate action. In a 2016 essay, two religious scholars at Yale
University, Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, considered the role of
religious leaders in spurring social change over recent decades,
whether in movements for civil rights or in advocating for the poor.
“Although the world religions have been slow to respond to our
current environmental crises, their moral authority and their
institutional power may help effect a change in attitudes,
practices, and public policies.” they wrote. Tucker and Grim, a
married couple who founded the Forum on Religion and Ecology at
Yale, then issued a challenge: “The individual religions must
explain and transform themselves if they are willing to enter into
this period of environmental engagement.” They concluded that, if
this is done, religions could “empower humans to embrace values that
sustain life and contribute to a vibrant Earth community.” <br>
<br>
Part of this engagement, Hayhoe argues, involves nurturing a sense
of hope. In 2017, the American Psychological Association first
defined the term “eco-anxiety” as a “chronic fear of environmental
doom,” and it’s on the rise. In a survey of British schoolchildren
last year, one in five reported having nightmares about climate
change. Many can relate: Just staring at charts of rising global
temperatures can engender a sense of dread. In her 2018 TED talk,
viewed 4 million times, Hayhoe described the consequences of giving
in to despair, a gloom that leaves people paralyzed. “Fear is not
what is going to motivate us for the long-term, sustained change
that we need to fix this thing,” she said.<br>
<br>
When I talked to her, Hayhoe was adamant that nurturing hope can be
as simple as getting out and doing something. “We know that what
gives us hope is action, whether it’s seeing others act, hearing
about others acting, or acting ourselves.” <br>
<br>
Humphrey, for instance, has continued working with A Rocha, focusing
on theological education, but he has also, along the way, become an
ordained minister. He now lives and preaches in Victoria, British
Columbia, and with a group of friends, he founded the Wild Church
Victoria. On weekends, members hike local mountains, through grasses
and Garry oak forests; or they visit nearby beaches and walk along
pebbled shores. Outside in nature, surrounded by creation, they read
scripture and practice their eco-conscious faith.<br>
<br>
It was at Brooksdale where I saw A Rocha’s efforts to put creation
care into practice. Along the Little Campbell River, which runs
through the property, the Salish Sucker, a small, freshwater fish
once thought locally extinct, was rediscovered thanks to A Rocha’s
watershed monitoring. This blend of science, conservation, and
Christian faith seemed so at odds with the popular conception of
anti-environment evangelicals. <br>
<br>
“A Rocha beautifully embodies how we can care about people and
places in a way that genuinely reflects God’s love,” Hayhoe told me.
“I think that genuine reflection of love is what attracts people to
them.”<br>
<br>
Back when I first spent time with Humphrey, riding in his truck
through forests near the U.S. border, he drove us to a lumber yard
to buy slabs of wood for an outdoor shelter. When we returned to the
Brooksdale farm, the cedar planks jutting from the back of the
truck, the property’s large garden and grassy fields came into view,
ringed by a forest of tall conifers and a gentle, meandering river.<br>
Perhaps this proximity to nature, along with the experience of
growing food and protecting wild species, helps raise awareness
about the threat of climate change and the destruction of the
natural world. This is hardly a novel idea, as a growing body of
evidence shows that connection with nature is linked to a desire to
protect it. But in an era when our eyes are glued to the
mini-computers in the palms of our hands, contact with nature, a
fact of life for millennia, can seem radical. <br>
<br>
For the next couple of hours at Brooksdale, I stuck around to help
build the shelter for their outdoor oven. The sound of a radial saw
slicing through beams of wood filled the air. We were soon drilling
nails into rafters and attaching them to boards that ran along the
shelter’s peak. By the fifth or sixth board, we had the hang of it,
and fell into a routine of eye contact, head nods, and reassurances
of “good enough.”<br>
<br>
Humphrey told me that A Rocha didn’t have a church. But it seemed to
me that here, at Brooksdale, the volunteers were constructing a
place of significance surrounded by nature: a large wooden shelter
around an oven hearth, where food grown in the fields would be
cooked, in acknowledgment of Earth’s wonder, the fish and the birds.
What they call creation.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://grist.org/politics/evangelical-christians-climate-action-god-mandate-bible/">https://grist.org/politics/evangelical-christians-climate-action-god-mandate-bible/</a><br>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
[The news archive - looking back]<br>
<font size="+1"><b>On this day in the history of global warming
June 27, 2000</b></font><br>
Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore lays out his energy policy
at a campaign appearance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://c-spanvideo.org/program/GoreEne">http://c-spanvideo.org/program/GoreEne</a> <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<p>/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------/</p>
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