Week Four: Climate Theologies

With Pope Francis’ visit to the United States this week and his message of care for all people, I have been thinking a lot about why climate change is affecting the world’s poorest people first. I have read and heard a lot about how it is affecting them but I have been able to really grasp the why. Why is it that those with the least amount of resources will face the realities of climate change first?

I found some answers after reading Derek Larson’s article ‘Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home’ in the most recent issue of the Abbey Banner magazine (link below) and after an early morning conversation with him. In his article he talks about the ‘disproportionate consumption of resources’ and the ‘tremendous gap between the world’s rich and poor countries’ which results in human suffering but that ‘most of us remain blissfully unaware of the short-term impacts’ of our habits. He goes on to say ‘those who suffer the first and most from climate change are the least equipped to deal with the challenges on their own.’ But he never really got into the why. So one morning when we were both in our offices earlier than we should have been, I asked him why that is the case.

His take on it is that those with more resources are better able to ‘insulate’ themselves from changes in climate, mostly due to technology and wealth. We have the means to turn on the air conditioning, turn up the heater, buy our food in grocery stores, buy bottled water, and even have the means to move if necessary. Please with few resources are less insulated from the climate and their livelihood depends on things like the predictability of monsoon rains, the availability of potable water or the current sea level. When those things change, they have fewer resources to begin with to adjust to those changes.

If that is the case, I think that those with the means to live comfortably despite of the changing climate need to be more connected to the natural world. If we are more connected, we are then more able to feel the effects of a changing climate and it would motivate us to change our behaviors more, even if we are able to insulate ourselves. As Derek says ‘we must educate those with access to greater resources on their responsibility to care for their fellows as they steward creation.’ For it is our actions that have the greatest impact on the planet in the first place and we must stop insulating ourselves from the effects.

http://issuu.com/sjabbey/docs/ab_fall_2015_7136c86cd1b5fc/1

Week Three: Past and Present Climate

It was great to have Troy as a guest lecturer in class this week to help explain the science of climate change. His energetic style and passion for the topic comes through in his lecture/discussion style and I really appreciated his approach of 'crossing things off the list' when it comes to other potential reasons the globe is warming (the sun, Earth's orbit, volcanoes, etc...). 

But I thought the most interesting part of the discussion was when we talked about using individual weather events that negatively effect people to prove or disprove climate change. I can absolutely see his point about not using something like Hurricane Katrina to show how the climate is changing. Dramatic and drastic events like that are easy to point to, but when they don't happen again or with what we humans deem some regularity, it does provide deniers to make the claim, 'Where is your global warming now?' However I also feel like if we don't make the connection between human life and climate change, it will be easier for people to sit back and not make any of the changes that are necessary to mitigate and adapt to our changing climate.

My feelings on this come mostly from watching ‘Sun Come Up’ and the profound impact that film had on me. I know about climate change, I try to change my habits to help contribute less to climate change, but it was that film that first really showed me this is an issue now. People are already having to adapt in dramatic ways and if we don’t do a better job of changing our lifestyle, more and more people will be facing the hard decisions the Carteret people have already made.

Week Two: Climate Culture

The movie Sun Come Up evoked an incredible emotional response from me, as it put a 'face' on the affects of climate change. Living in a land-locked state with no current plans to move away, I don't ever see myself in the position the Carteret people are in, having to find a new home because of the rising sea level. While Minnesota isn't immune to climate change and are already feeling some effects, such as a recent shift to a warmer plant hardiness zones, I don't anticipate having to leave this place in search of new land to raise my family. The pain and difficulty of their impending move was incredibly apparent during the film and made me consider what choices my daughter may have to face in her lifetime.

I was inspired by Basil, the former fighter in the previous civil war in Bougainville. He talked about fighting in a war and doing horrible things for reasons he didn't know. He was incredible reflective and said that he was helping the Carteret group search for land as a way to give back and make up for the things he did during the war. His actions gave me hope that our world can come together as a global community and help those who will suffer first and the worst from our changing climate.

Week One: Why Climate Matters

I never thought of myself as a climate denier until I read Naomi Klein’s article ‘Don’t look away now: the climate crisis needs you’ in The Guardian. I read about climate change just enough to know it was happening and that humans were to blame. I recycle, grow my own food, try to be aware of the consumer choices I am making, etc… I roll my eyes when people come out on the coldest day of the winter and say ‘Where’s the climate change now?’ But when I read Klein’s description of how she first thought about climate change, I identified with the ways we look away more than I wanted to. Especially when she described it as ‘at first it may appear as if we are looking, because many of these lifestyle changes are indeed part of the solution, but we still have one eye tightly shut.’ When I looked in the mirror after reading her article, I saw one of my eyes was shut.

But I also thought it was refreshing to read how Klein was encouraging us to use this situation as an opportunity for ‘a catalyzing force for positive change.’ With so many inequalities in the world and a hopeless feeling when one tries to think about how to change it all, why not combine the changes we need to make to mitigate climate change with the changes we need to make the world a more equitable place. It seems like an easy way to tackle a big problem.

So just like I tell my three year old daughter when she makes a bad choice, we just have to do better next time. So this is my next time. I plan on using this class to gather all the information on why we should care about this topic, and more importantly, learn what really will make a different in our world. If not for me, for my daughter so she can grow up with both eyes open.