The essence of the climate change movement is understood to be: Human actions are damaging the planet, these actions should be stopped and the damages repaired.
Assuming for the sake of this post that the above statement is accepted as true, how are people reacting? Scientists are working on carbon-offsetting and hybrid technologies, economists such as Sir Nicholas Stern are advising politicians to adopt environmentally friendly policies because the costs of current action are lower than the cost of future reaction, and the politicians in turn are discussing how to implement these policies globally and whom should bear their costs. The media is covering most angles feverently, but little attention has been paid to the major religions’ attempts to understand and face climate change.
Which is distressing, since religion could decide the effectiveness of everyone elses actions. Developing countries like China, India, Brazil and the African nations could be tomorrow’s biggest carbon emitters. Though their political systems differ from developed nations, causing much chagrin to diplomatic relationships, their religions essentially do not. Christianity, Islam or Buddism can reach past socialism or communism, tying different cultures and countries with the same common thread.
This is why, while politicians argue over the cost of climate change and who to bill, religious leaders can encourage grass roots environmentalism on a global scale. Everyone then, should be happy when Pope Benedict tells the youth of Australia that ”We need to rediscover our earth in the face of our God and creator and to re-find our responsibilities in front of our Maker and the creatures of the earth.” While Keith Johnson at his Wall Street Journal Blog examines the Christian right’s gradual shift to combat climate change.
Jewish or not, environmentalists should support groups like Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) which “…mobilizes the Jewish community to advocate on a wide range of environmental issues, with a particular focus on global climate change and energy conservation”. As the Guardian article ‘The greening of Islam‘ points out, the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES) is encouraging Islamic principles such as tawhid (unity), amana (entrustment) of the Earth, and khalifa (the stewardship of humankind) which underpin most Islamic environmentalism.
Without standing on a soapbox, Oil Energy Money would like to encourage every attempt at helping the environment, and while environmentalism should not be solely faith based, the faithful could cause a sea change in global action.
