Belief, Hope and Action

I believe  that God exists and has tried to reach us through many paths. One is the path of Judaism and Christianity. In the Bible, Jesus states that the two greatest commandments are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” …and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  (NIV - Matthew 22:37-40)

I hope and pray that I am following these two commandments with as many actions as possible during my lifetime. Sometimes an action could be patience and not saying something to someone. Sometimes it means doing something you are very uncomfortable doing.

Sometimes asking questions is more helpful than making statements.

Do you understand why some evangelical Christians support a man in the presidency who has pursued many ways to hurt the natural world upon which we all depend for life?

All of us do depend on healthy clean water, air, and land to live life. If water or air or land has poisons or toxic chemicals that harm us, how can we be healthy? Some toxins, like arsenic, are more obvious in their effects. Some, like strychnine, are very quick to cause death. Some, like excess levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, depend on the level to which we are exposed.

If our air was all carbon dioxide, we would die quickly from lack of oxygen. If there were no carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, most plants would be unable to live, and we would die from lack of food. Current life on planet Earth depends on a balance in the level of carbon dioxide.

 In pre-industrial times, the level of carbon dioxide was 280 parts per million (ppm). Currently, many of us burn fossil fuels (coal, oil, and so-called natural gas)  for energy to create electricity, heat our homes, power our vehicles, and to make concrete and other substances as part of our modern society. This has resulted in raising the level of carbon dioxide to over 420 ppm.

For most of us, this does not cause immediate death or illness. But there is a very high probability that this has very significantly contributed to, or has been the cause of, the increase in hot weather events, droughts, and severe storms. These are some of the signs of global warming and climate change that has been gradually occurring.

If one dies from heat stroke in one of those weather events, then you can say this level of carbon dioxide caused immediate death. If one dies from lack of food due to drought, then you can say this level of carbon dioxide caused immediate death.

The ocean levels are slowly rising due to this global warming. That rate of rise is accelerating.  All the above statements are strongly supported by the scientific studies of the last 50 years. But the current U.S. administration calls this “climate alarmism”.

The only reason that I can see for this is the pursuit of short-term profits for the fossil fuel industry. Will that short-term benefit for a small portion of society prove to be a catastrophe for a large portion or all of society in the future?

When I play a card game or any other game involving chance, I like to assess the odds of a particular move to give me the best chance to win. We all want to win.

Given the current direction of our current administration, I would not bet on a positive outcome for our society long term.

I will continue my efforts to reduce my use of fossil fuels.

I will continue to try to educate others about this issue that is affecting many now.

I believe this is part of my duty to “Love my neighbor as myself.”

What do you think?

What are you willing to do?