Eleven Years?

Today CBC Radio's The Current program used the entire episode to the challenge of addressing climate change in the next eleven years, the 2030 date offered by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on 1.5°C. Since this sobering prediction was made by the IPCC there has been a great deal of public discussion, and private as well. I had a good text exchange a few weeks ago with one of our daughters whose daughter is 16 months old. The report jolted her as a parent, realizing that at the turn of 2030 our granddaughter will be 13. What will her future hold if we don't address climate change.

The Current did an excellent job of presenting a number of voices including a thoughtful, civil exchange between two younger women, one a mother of kids from Alberta. Everyone should listen to what they had to say. I found it emotional to hear the voices of children who realize that inaction on climate change will deeply affect their lives, as my generation will be drawing to a close.



It seemed appropriate that the final conversation was with a pastor who was deeply involved in the civil rights movement who is now committed to addressing climate change through the organization called Interfaith Power & Light.

I encourage you to listen to the CBC program as an encouragement to care for God's good Earth.

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/the-current/episode/15648681

https://www.interfaithpowerandlight.org/

God's Little Green...Hectare?

 
The land must not be sold permanently, 
because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. 
Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, 
you must provide for the redemption of the land.

  Leviticus 25:23-24
 
I don't like being deceived by politicians and there aren't many people who do. One of the reasons the Liberals were humiliated in the last provincial election in Ontario is that they "cooked the books" in some instances and probably lied to us in others. Unlike many Ontarians I appreciated Kathleen Wynne in many respects but her government screwed up in too many ways and they deserved to be turfed. 

A couple of important decisions the Libs did make were getting rid of coal-fired power plants and establishing the Green Belt. The Green Belt has been maligned by some, including those who are frustrated by laws which impede development and profit for a few. 

When it was implemented there were also farmers angry that they would lose their retirements -- 43 per cent of the Greenbelt is farmland -- but some of the concerns have abated. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture was opposed to the Greenbelt then, but current OFA vice-president Keith Currie has a different outlook today: “The Greenbelt is doing essentially what it planned to do — curbing development — and it hasn’t really affected the day-to-day activities of farmers.”

We know too that by protecting the headwaters of many streams and rivers within the Green Space it ensures the clarity of water in spawning areas for fish and for human consumption. 




 Ella Haley and Richard Tunstall asked that their organic farm in Brant County
be included in the Greenbelt in 2015


Enter the Regressive Conservative Party, whose leader told developers before he was elected that there would be development in the Green Belt, then back-tracked and promised to protect it when there was a public outcry. Now Premier Ford is insisting that the Green Belt is safe, even as legislation has been introduced which loosens restrictions on development. One of the many concerns about this sneaky legislation is that contamination of water sources could result in another disaster along the lines of Walkerton, where more than 2,000 people were sickened and six died because of E coli.

The bible has lots to say about caring for the land as a precious trust given by God and while our governments are secular, they are accountable. Protecting green spaces, restricting greed, and making sure that there is arable land for agriculture are the essential work of government and an aspect of living faithfully as Christians. When I was a part of Oshawa/Lakeridge Presbytery we wrote to the federal government about protecting proposed Pickering Airport lands which are within the Green Belt as part of our work as the Faith in Action committee. We can all be vigilant that we don't "pave paradise and put up a parking lot." (thanks Joni)

 

Prayers for the Planet in Poland

 This is God's wondrous world. O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong. God is the ruler yet.
This is God's wondrous world: why should my heart be sad?
Let voices sing, O let the heavens ring!
        God reigns, let earth be glad.

This morning there was an ecumenical worship service in the arch-cathedral of Katowice, Poland, the host country for the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. No wonder they use the acronym COP24! Prayers for the work of this environmental conference were held in the 10,000 Catholic parishes in Poland today, which is a reminder of Pope Francis' commitment to care for Creation. 

Prayer seems particularly important after a discouraging vote yesterday. Attempts to incorporate a key scientific study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change into these global climate talks have failed with the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait objected to this meeting "welcoming" the report, even though more than 100 other countries were in favour. Of course those four countries are major oil producers and users so it would appear that keeping heads in the sand -- or up their posteriors -- has led them to reject the scientific evidence.The IPCC report on the impacts of a temperature rise of 1.5C, had a significant impact when it was launched last October. Scientists and many delegates in Poland were shocked that these countries objected to this meeting "welcoming" the report.

I continue to pray for the healing of Creation and the courage of leaders from around the world to make decisive choices for the future for all creatures on the planet. I do get discouraged when it seems as though we don't have a prayer. Yet I hold fast to the words of the hymn: "that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet." 

Soil Solution

 

 Do not fear, O soil;
    be glad and rejoice,
    for the Lord has done great things! 

 Do not fear, you animals of the field,
    for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit,
    the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

 Joel 2:21-27 (NRSV)

The cold of Winter descended upon us so quickly this year that we didn't have time to empty our many outside flower pots before they were frozen solid. I got them into the garage and waited for a couple of days mild enough to excavate the soil so the pots wouldn't crack. Some of them were root-bound but I liberated them all. The rock-hard soil of our raised beds meant that we didn't get our garlic in this Fall. We're a mess!

Yesterday was World Soil Day --yes, friends, it's a day -- and apparently we are the solution to soil pollution. Apparently soil pollution is a hidden reality: 

Soil is a complex growing habitat that remains productive only if it is cared for and nurtured. Combating and addressing soil pollution is the only way to minimize the risks for food security, human health and the environment. 

 

Eduourd Léon Edy-Legrand, Jesus Healing the Blind Man. ca. 1950.

Listen, is this seems incredibly nerdy, tell that to God. There are plenty of soil passages in the Hebrew scriptures and Jesus was partial to soil as well. He told soil and sower stories and used mud to heal. It makes sense for someone who grew up in an agrarian society. 

If we are "down to earth" Groundlings, good Adamahs and Eves we will take care of the soil that feeds and sustains us.

 When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to [Jesus], 
he said in a parable:  
 “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, 
some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.  
 Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture.  
Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.  
Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” 
As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

Luke 8:4-8 

President George H W Bush and Clean Air

 
 Nellie Lake -- A Y Jackson

In 1988 our family moved to Sudbury, Ontario, where I served St. Andrew's United Church, a downtown congregation. Although we would be living in a city renowned for the bleak landscape immediately around the city limits because of nickel smelter fall-out it turned out to be my lengthiest pastorate at eleven years. Ironically, one of the reasons I accepted this call was because of the ready access to natural beauty and wilderness. Many members of the congregation shared this love and some of our congregational hikes drew as many as seventy people.

I also paddled with some of my congregants including a manager with what is now called the  Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. One foray was to Nellie Lake, a remote spot in the north of Killarney Provincial Park. We walked the lengthy portage in to one of the clearest lakes in the park. Tom told us that ministry staff measured water clarity to 90 feet (28 metres) and while this was impressive it was also ominous. Many of the lakes in the park were crystal clear because acid rain from the States and Sudbury killed everything in the water, including fish. Actually, most of the sulfur emissions from the smelter in Sudbury ended up in Quebec and the Maritimes

 

All that has changed because of decisions made by the former president who died recently and the prime minister who will eulogize him. In 1990 President George H W Bush and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed changes to the Clean Air Act which would reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides -- acid rain -- by half. The result has been cleaner air across the continent and cleaner water as well. This Act has resulted in extensive  biological recovery in lakes of the Sudbury/Killarney region. 

I'll add here that Mulroney has been honoured  as the "greenest" Prime Minister in our history and if some of his policies had been advanced through the years we might not be in the climate change mess we find ourselves in today. We might also recognize that  Elizabeth May, now leader of the Green Party of Canada, worked in the Mulroney administration as an advisor to the Environment Minister. 

Well, thanks George and Brian for not only making a difference but for setting an example for what international cooperation might achieve. Make no mistake, our current circumstances are bleak, but there is hope, God and governments being our helper.


 

Sudbury Smelter Superstack

Sir David, Climate Change Prophet

 

David Attenborough is a superstar of nature documentaries with both Blue Planet and Blue Planet II among his many achievements. Sir David is still working despite being in his early nineties and will narrate a Netflix nature series next year, God willing. He began his career with the BBC in 1952 but his curiosity about the natural world began as a young child, which is so often the case with those who go on to be champions and interpreters of Earth's processes and biodiversity. 

Attenborough has a list of awards longer than a giraffe's neck but there have been criticisms that he focuses on the wonders of creation while ignoring the perils of the planet. 

There can be no doubt that he cares deeply about our planetary home after his speech at the beginning of COP 24, which is the informal name for the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. COP 24 is currently meeting in Poland with representatives from around the world, including observers from faith groups. 

In his address Attenborough said:

"Right now, we are facing a man-made disaster of global scale. Our greatest threat in thousands of years. Climate change. If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilisations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon. The world's people have spoken. Their message is clear. Time is running out. They want you, the decision-makers, to act now." 

Well, that's rather clear, isn't it? If observers were hoping for a bold and prophetic statement from Sir David they certainly got it.What matters now is whether anyone is listening and willing to act.

 

You might be interested to know The United Church of Canada is the only Canadian church with official observer status at COP. A press from KAIROS Canada says:


 Two women climate activists representing KAIROS Canada under the accreditation of The United Church of Canada are in Katowice, Poland as observers at the 24^th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24), December 3-14. Jessica Steele and Georgine Kengne’s mission is twofold: to urge the Canadian government to increase its greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets, backed by an ambitious action plan, and to join other women climate activists in adding their voice to the COP24 process on the gendered impacts of climate change.

We can all pray that words will become action on behalf of Creation in all its complexity and beauty.

Can We Detox God's Good Earth?

 

My Lion Lamb blog for Sunday (ya, I work ahead) is about Oxford Dictionaries' "word of the year," which is "toxic." Toxic is defined as "poisonous, venomous and morally destructive." I wonder in that post whether it is possible for Christians to "detox" the poisonous tendencies of our species, to counteract the grim truth that religion often contributes to the toxicity of our world.

I'm addressing "toxic" here in my Groundling blog in another context. We humans are literally toxifying the planet with astonishing speed and thoroughness. 

In many places the air is so polluted that children can't go to school for days on end. In some cities of India and China it is standard to have air filters to make the air breathable. A couple of days ago Beijing experienced its worst air quality in two years.

 

We are very aware that our waterways and oceans are clogged with plastic, which ends up in the food chain. Tests on humans indicate that we have micro-particles of plastic in us. 

Chemicals which have been touted as "miracles" for crop growth and weed suppression kill those who harvest and sometimes sicken consumers. 

An e coli outbreak in 36 states was traced to Romain lettuce poisoned by to irrigation canals. 

We may think of a "toxic environment" as a metaphor, but it applies literally to the one planetary home for all seven billion of us. The effects of environmental degradation and climate change are evident in virtually every place, including the once pristine Canadian arctic. 

As dire as this sounds, we are regularly reminded by the scientific community that we can change for the better. Surely this must be the message of religions and faith groups? Virtually all religious texts describe God as creator and invite us to "tend the garden." It is our imperative to detox God's good Earth.