If you grew up in a church-going family and had a Sunday School education, you probably absorbed certain information, ideas and practices that have carried you into adulthood. Many of us had life-changing experiences at church camp during the summer and these experiences are remembered with fondness.
In college, you found it necessary to ignore or by-pass the challenges posed to your faith, so you continued on with a dualistic sense of what you knew and believed. Unfortunately, the religious or faith aspect of your belief system failed to keep pace with your more scientific or rational belief system. It is time to change that.
More to follow or Get my book from Amazon: Ethical Religion and Christian Activism
If you haven’t noticed, the world is facing a climate crisis, not only in the United States but all around the world. Dry regions are experiencing horrendous fires on the landscape due to drought conditions. Canada, Russia, Greece and other areas where fires are rare or small are now experiencing enormous blazes. Tornadoes and floods are occurring where they have previously been unheard of. All around the world, temperatures are rising, not only in the atmosphere but in the oceans as well. Death Valley saw 133° and the ocean around Miami got to 101̊. Glaciers are melting and disappearing. The planet is in crisis – and there are deniers to persist in ignoring it – or ignoring the impact that human-generated greenhouse gases are the main contributor. `
In contrast to politicians who disdain their findings, scientists and climatologists are nearly unanimous in concluding that the tipping point is near when it will be impossible to reverse, or at least stagnate, the warming of the planet. But the consequences of ignoring climate change will prove disastrous, perhaps sooner than is currently being predicted. It Phoenix today (August 28) it is expected to be 116°. Will it get hotter in the future? Are temperatures of that kind survivable year after year? Hotter temperatures mean oceans will warm and glaciers will melt. What will be the effects on fish in the oceans and livestock and produce on the land? Will food and water diminish in availability? Will coastline communities be flooded by rising sea waters? Will constant tornadoes and hurricanes continue to ravage buildings and landscapes? Will costs to recover become insurmountable? And how will humans react to these misfortunes?
If these questions could be answered, if we know in advance what will certainly happen – and knew the timetable – would it change human behavior? Would it change industrial policy and economic behavior? Would it result in companies closing down because of the pollution they generate? Would it mean that the internal compulsion engine would be outlawed? Would it result in the end of deforestation and lumber production? In the meantime, are we being slowly cooked?
As August fades away, concluding an always too short summer (especially here along the shore of Puget Sound), I offer concluding remarks for the month. Trump’s fortunes seem to be bleaker than ever and looks like Giuliani may be living out his last days of freedom. I can’t say I’m sorry since they have been responsible for the largest amount of chaos we have seen since the Civil War. But I constantly think that they wouldn’t have been able to carry on as mischievously as they have were it not for the many thoughtless, brainless unpatriotic and unethical sycophants who have followed them. After years of struggling to free the people of the country from the legacy of Jim Crow, the subdued voices of prejudice and bigotry are once again emerging into the open. The evolving landscape of democracy has been compromised by the long-simmering culture that is hostile to true democracy.
The war against the environment seems to be winning, despite Democratic efforts to enact measures to curtail it. Despite enormous climatic and environmental catastrophes, Republican legislators stills seem to be in denial and a large segment of the public seems to be unconcerned. Now at the end of August, Phoenix is still experiencing 110° temperatures and even Fargo at the Canadian border remains in the 90s. I don’t expect the climate to be more moderate in future years – but to worsen. Other systems will face challenges as a consequence. I suppose it’s more acceptable to be an optimist but I’m really a pessimist.
Ukraine is still fighting the Russian invasion of nineteen months ago, hoping to defend democracy in a post-Trump unified West – but the war drags on, only with the hope for an eventual victory. At the same time, there is discord in Israel, Chinese ambitions in Asia, gruesome fighting in Africa and drug cartels in Mexico. Weather aberrations are global. There are so many problems confronting our society and I can only see doom ahead – and sooner rather than later.
If you grew up in a church-going family and had a Sunday School education, you probably absorbed certain information, ideas and practices that have carried you into adulthood. Many of us had life-changing experiences at church camp during the summer and these experiences are remembered with fondness.
In college, you found it necessary to ignore or by-pass the challenges posed to your faith, so you continued on with a dualistic sense of what you knew and believed. Unfortunately, the religious or faith aspect of your belief system failed to keep pace with your more scientific or rational belief system. It is time to change that.
More to follow or Get my book from Amazon: Ethical Religion and Christian Activism
CLIMATE CRISIS *
If you haven’t noticed, the world is facing a climate crisis, not only in the United States but all around the world. Dry regions are experiencing horrendous fires on the landscape due to drought conditions. Canada, Russia, Greece and other areas where fires are rare or small are now experiencing enormous blazes. Tornadoes and floods are occurring where they have previously been unheard of. All around the world, temperatures are rising, not only in the atmosphere but in the oceans as well. Death Valley saw 133° and the ocean around Miami got to 101̊. Glaciers are melting and disappearing. The planet is in crisis – and there are deniers to persist in ignoring it – or ignoring the impact that human-generated greenhouse gases are the main contributor. `
In contrast to politicians who disdain their findings, scientists and climatologists are nearly unanimous in concluding that the tipping point is near when it will be impossible to reverse, or at least stagnate, the warming of the planet. But the consequences of ignoring climate change will prove disastrous, perhaps sooner than is currently being predicted. It Phoenix today (August 28) it is expected to be 116°. Will it get hotter in the future? Are temperatures of that kind survivable year after year? Hotter temperatures mean oceans will warm and glaciers will melt. What will be the effects on fish in the oceans and livestock and produce on the land? Will food and water diminish in availability? Will coastline communities be flooded by rising sea waters? Will constant tornadoes and hurricanes continue to ravage buildings and landscapes? Will costs to recover become insurmountable? And how will humans react to these misfortunes?
If these questions could be answered, if we know in advance what will certainly happen – and knew the timetable – would it change human behavior? Would it change industrial policy and economic behavior? Would it result in companies closing down because of the pollution they generate? Would it mean that the internal compulsion engine would be outlawed? Would it result in the end of deforestation and lumber production? In the meantime, are we being slowly cooked?
AUGUST FINIS August 31, 2023
As August fades away, concluding an always too short summer (especially here along the shore of Puget Sound), I offer concluding remarks for the month. Trump’s fortunes seem to be bleaker than ever and looks like Giuliani may be living out his last days of freedom. I can’t say I’m sorry since they have been responsible for the largest amount of chaos we have seen since the Civil War. But I constantly think that they wouldn’t have been able to carry on as mischievously as they have were it not for the many thoughtless, brainless unpatriotic and unethical sycophants who have followed them. After years of struggling to free the people of the country from the legacy of Jim Crow, the subdued voices of prejudice and bigotry are once again emerging into the open. The evolving landscape of democracy has been compromised by the long-simmering culture that is hostile to true democracy.
The war against the environment seems to be winning, despite Democratic efforts to enact measures to curtail it. Despite enormous climatic and environmental catastrophes, Republican legislators stills seem to be in denial and a large segment of the public seems to be unconcerned. Now at the end of August, Phoenix is still experiencing 110° temperatures and even Fargo at the Canadian border remains in the 90s. I don’t expect the climate to be more moderate in future years – but to worsen. Other systems will face challenges as a consequence. I suppose it’s more acceptable to be an optimist but I’m really a pessimist.
Ukraine is still fighting the Russian invasion of nineteen months ago, hoping to defend democracy in a post-Trump unified West – but the war drags on, only with the hope for an eventual victory. At the same time, there is discord in Israel, Chinese ambitions in Asia, gruesome fighting in Africa and drug cartels in Mexico. Weather aberrations are global. There are so many problems confronting our society and I can only see doom ahead – and sooner rather than later.