In 2007, Paul Hawken published a book called Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming. The book documents grassroots activism around the world, ranging from NGOs to billionaire philanthropists to local, individual efforts. The movement is enormous, but so widely dispersed that it…
Category: Climate Change
Convergence
This week began with Easter and ends with Earth Day (April 22). The resurrection is the foundational event for Christians, so Easter is joyously celebrated in all Christian traditions. Care of the earth, on the other hand, remains a fringe concern within the church. Fewer than one-third of white Evangelical Christians view climate change as…
Complicity
Environmentalist Bill McKibben wrote about it in The Guardian. Thomas Friedman made it the topic of his column in The New York Times.The Christian Century addressed it in a recent editorial. Our dependence on oil is fueling Russia’s war in Ukraine, providing even more reason to transition to renewable energy. Throughout the west, people have…
Living Among Ashes
There’s an ancient Jewish tale about a rabbi who carried two slips of paper in his pockets. The slip in one pocket read, “You are nothing but dust and ashes,” and the slip in the other read, “The world was created for you.” We humans are creatures of the dust who are enlivened by the…
New Neighbors
The UN Climate Summit known as COP26, which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, this month, was notable for the older, white men who dominated the official sessions and the much more diverse and younger crowds demonstrating outside. Less visible were representatives of religious groups from around the world, although many were there and some had…