Address: “Step it Up for Earth Day”©
The Rev. Sarah Lammert, USR, April
22, 2007
It’s been a tough week for many of
us. First we had that storm – in which
half of the basements of New Jersey were filled with water; then we heard that
a lone gunman , a severely disturbed young man, shot and killed 32 of his peers
at Virginia Tech. Whether or not one has
a personal tie to the school, this tragedy seems to have struck a deep
emotional chord in our nation – it is never easy to see people so young and so
full of promise have their lives cut short, and it is hard as well not to have
some compassion for the shooter, who was so obviously abused and distressed
himself, and somehow out of reach of help.
We’ve also seen the worst bloodshed in Baghdad since the four year old
war there was begun.
Yesterday, of course, we had that
glorious day outside, and today promises to be another. I was walking here this morning – heading
first to the bagel shop where I used my refillable coffee mug and then of
course here, and I was serenaded by birdsong the entire way. I want to give myself over with Walt Whitman
to the miracles swarming all around me as the spring is finally in blossom; and
yet, a part of me is held back from jubilation this year. I know it is all of the reading I’ve been
doing about global warming in preparation for today that is weighing on me, but
am I alone in experiencing a sort of creeping anxiety for the world? I have always trusted that spring will arrive
whether or not I have done my part for the earth, just as it has from time
immemorial, but what if it is no longer a guarantee?
I don’t know, maybe as human beings
we are wired to worry about the end times.
Throughout our human history, people have made doomsday forecasts, but
unless this life is merely an illusion, it would seem that every time they have
been wrong, and life has continued on its way.
Still, there are many people, mostly religious fundamentalists, who are
actively measuring this every day, almost like it is a hobby. A quick look at the Rapture Index on this
Earth Day week shows that we are currently up one at 159, reflecting heavy
prophetic activity. 160, the highest
level simply says “buckle your seatbelts.”
The Rapture Index measures 45 factors, including several related to climate
and weather. There are also measures for
global turmoil, financial unrest, the crime rate, etc, along with the more
wacky categories like “Beast Government” and “False Christs”
which all come from Revelations.
I don’t agree with their theology of
the end times. In fact, I find it
incredibly destructive and even offensive.
What these fundamentalists may have right, although I find so much wrong
with their analysis, is their sense of urgency about the state of the world,
and in particular about our Earth home itself.
Last week, thousands of people from
Austen, Texas to Walla Walla Washington rallied for
congress to cut carbon emissions in the US by 80% by the year 2050. I looked at a picture gallery on line of the
various gatherings, which was like a balm in a week like the one we’ve
had. There were people gathered at the
Alamo, in front of Glacier National Park, people forming human postcards to
Congress, and even sorority sisters getting in on the act. Additionally, some 3.2 million more individuals
signed a petition supporting the step-it-up campaign, which was delivered to
the House Committee on Natural Resources this week.
As many of you are well aware, the
issue of global warming has been heating up in the news lately, gaining in
momentum ever since Al Gore took up the cause with his groundbreaking
documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Global Warming is all over the news, with the hearing in Congress taking
place at the same time that the United Nations held its first ever Security
Council debate of climate change.
Evidence has been emerging lately that carbon concentrations in earth’s
atmosphere, primarily caused by the burning of coal, gasoline, natural gas and
oil, are causing world-wide climate changes more quickly than had been previously
anticipated. Even USA Today, hardly a
hotbed of journalistic radicalism, ran an in-depth story on global warming this
week, explaining in layman’s terms why this problem is so urgent.
Basically, the article explains,
Alaska is like a poster child for global climate change. Since 1970, temperature averages are up 3.5%
in Alaska, and the summer season has lengthened, causing polar ice to melt and
permafrost fields to turn to mush. “It’s
like pulling a plug in a bathtub” explained anthropologist Peter Schweitzer,
causing as much as 40% of all freshwater surface water to disappear, including
important migratory habitat for ducks and other waterfowl. Summers are dyer, and trees are weakened by
pests like the spruce bark beetle that was once controlled by winter’s
cold. Forest fires, long an integral
part of the forest ecology of Alaska, are burning out of control, and the trees
are unable to recover as they once might have.
Local Inuit people have recently filed a suit charging the United States
with a human rights violation, saying that country is the leading culprit behind
climate change, which threatens their way of life -- and their very survival.
Meanwhile,
this Thursday Hurricane Season begins again amid concerns that increased sea
surface temperatures will bring more storms like Hurricane Katrina, and the
devastating Tsunami in the Indian Ocean last year. I’m sure Scott would love to share with you
during coffee hour about his adventures in New Orleans, where he spent last
week doing electrical work in St. Bernard’s Parish – once home to 70,000
residents, and now with a population of only 9,000 even over a year after the
storm. Unfortunately, many of the places
that are most vulnerable to hurricanes are also home to some of the world’s
poorest people who are least able to afford rebuilding in the face of
devastating storms. Strangely, the very
same phenomenon that is causing excess rainfall in some areas is leading to
severe drought in places like Australia and the American Southwest, where rapid
development will further complicate the water shortage.
I
could go on and on with the bad news about global warming. Despite the skepticism of a vocal few, like
Lord Monckton of Benchley, former advisor to Margaret
Thatcher, who is featured in ads challenging Al Gore to a debate running in
major newspapers this week, it would seem that the evidence is overwhelming
that we have reached a critical juncture in the struggle to create a
sustainable future for life on our planet.
The good news, is that it is not too late to act. Human behaviors are the major causes of
global warming. Through individual and
institutional effort, we can also create change.
Global warming is more than a
scientific phenomenon – it is a moral and ethical issue. As Unitarian Universalists who recognize the
interdependence of life, as well as the importance of justice, equity and
compassion in human affairs, we may well have an important perspective and
grounding to offer for this issue. Recently,
a group of concerned USR members and friends met to revive our Environmental
Concerns Committee, which had been inactive for some years. 15 people came to the initial meeting, and
Anne Smith, a recent comer to the Society will co-chair the committee with a
person yet to be named. The group
invites you to join them at their next meeting which will be held on May 29th. They will be working on issues concerning our
Society, the local community and the globe.
Last week, I spoke with you all
about shared ministry and the fact that right relationship is a governing
principle in our way of congregational life.
I mentioned to you that a forty-something man in our congregation, Peter
Sinclair Snell, had suffered a stroke and asked for volunteers who might be
willing to read to him at the hospital.
I’m happy to report that more than ten of you volunteered to be on
Peter’s team, but unfortunately Peter took a turn for the worse that day, and
he died early last Monday morning. His
memorial service will be held here on May 5th at 11 a.m. and all are
welcome to attend. Sitting with Peter’s
wife Lisa and their family and friends, as well as Sean Malone who was there to
provide representative support from our congregation, I was reminded about the
fragility of life, as well as the incredible power of love and compassion.
Lisa wouldn’t mind my sharing that
she and Peter were hard workers – often putting in 12 hour days and then making
the long commute home up to Chester.
“I’m done with that way of life.” she announced to everyone who was
gathered. “Peter and I kept talking
about how we would only do this for three more years, and now we don’t have any
more time. I know you all know this, but
you have to make time for the things that are important. You can’t let work be your entire life.”
We can’t let work, even the good
work of social transformation, be our lives.
We need to realize the preciousness of life and how important it is to
spend time with those we love. We also
can’t live every moment with the intensity of knowing that it will all come to
an end one day, maybe sooner than we can imagine. A spoof article about Al Gore’s movie in The
Onion said it had been “panned by critics nationwide who claim the 90-plus
minute enivironmental film is “too disturbingly
realistic and well-researched to enjoy.”
This of course, refers to our culture which wants escapism, not reality,
from the movies. Said fictional critic
Skip Hack, “Gore’s film overwhelm viewers with staggering amounts of scientific
information until nothing about global warming is left to the imagination, and
that’s just not good entertainment. Two
stars.”
Somewhere, somehow, there has to be
a balance. I caught a glimpse of this
middle way in the photos from the Step It Up rallies – people combining
activism with the arts, with spending time in intergenerational community, and
with celebrating the beauty of the earth.
Everybody was smiling in the pictures – filled with a sense of the
possible. In Vermont, they were waving
bicycles in the air, in LA they hiked above the smog of the city, in Galesburg,
IL they built a giant shoe to show the carbon imprint of one gallon of
gasoline. I would have loved to join the
group in Paia, HI, which met on Baldwin Beach to
highlight the beautiful shore lands that could be lost if we don’t all step it
up and take action!
But even if we can’t go to Hawaii to
join the protest, we each can do a number of things at home and in the public
sphere to make a difference in the global warming crisis. First, we can reduce the amount of fossil fuels
we burn in our homes. According to the
First Unitarian Church of Portland, which consulted many sources such as the
“Official Earth Day Guide to Planet Repair” it is as easy as 1-2-3!
One) reduce your thermostat one degree in the colder
months, and raise it one degree in the air-conditioning months. This simple action will net you a 3-5%
reduction in your energy usage.
Two) drive 2 miles an hour slower when traveling at
speeds over 60 mph. This will help you relax
and be safer on the roadways, and it will also reduce your fuel consumption by
2-4%.
Three) replace 3 regular light bulbs in your home with 3
fluorescent bulbs. They use
significantly less electricity, and will pay for themselves quickly.
These
1-2-3- actions will save a typical household almost 1300 pounds of CO2
emissions annually, as well as saving you $100 in your budget!
There is of course a lot more we
could do as individuals, like walking or biking more, using renewable grocery
bags, composting, and spending time in wild places to nurture your soul as well
as your sense of connection to the earth.
But we also need to participate in institutional change if we are to
step-it-up in time to make a difference.
We could look into new solar and thermal technologies for the energy
needs of our congregation. The UU
Ministry for the Earth is challenging all UU congregations to pledge to plant
10 trees this year. We can also voice
our concerns to our government, urging them to finally sign the Kyoto protocol
as well as to support efforts like the Step-it-Up campaign.
Even beyond the scientific, moral
and ethical implications of global warming, I believe that this is a
philosophical and spiritual issue.
Whether you are a humanist or whether you believe in some version of
transcendence, it is a matter of stretching the definition of human being to
include our interrelatedness to all of life.
As Henry David Thoreau put it”
“This earth which is spread out like a map around me is but the lining of my inmost
soul exposed.” We must reclaim our place
with life, realizing that as we act in the interests of earth’s health, it is
as good as taking a vitamin, or going to the gym for a workout, or eating
healthy foods. And as people who love
life, when we act to sustain the planet, we hand the gift that life is onto
generations of people whose glorious stories we can not even imagine.
Let’s step it up for Earth Day this
year. Now is the time to climb up the
mountain and reason against habit. Now is the time.[1] We are the generation that stands between the
fires. Blessed is the One within the
many. Blessed are the Many who make one.[2]