This is my first entry to God is Green and so I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Meggan Lewis, my passion is climate change and I am a climate protection consultant.
What is occurring right now because of climate change? Temperatures are rising, and this means that heat stress will affect more and more people, vector and water-borne diseases are increasing and illnesses are being exasperated due to additional immune stress. Crops are not growing like they used to, yields are down, and food prices are likely to rise in the future. Floods, droughts and storms are all increasing in intensity and frequency. The number of people caught in the grip of poverty and hunger is increasing.
Are the impacts of climate change uniformly felt? No, it is the poorer nations, who are and will be the most affected and for this reason alone I think Jesus is mightily concerned.
This being said, climate change presents us with many opportunities; opportunities to live more sustainable lives, to develop better and to treat our world with care. Many people ask me what they can do about climate change, my simple answer - find out more. We need to create a society that understands climate change, acts on climate change and pushes leaders to do the same. We as individuals need to know the answers to the following questions: What does climate change really mean? Is the science behind it really contentious? How will it affect my life? What can I do to help?
Visit the following site to begin the enlightenment: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/climate-change-ar4/index.htm.
Climate change cannot be solved by government alone, but is something that every individual from every walk of life can help to abate. We as Christians have often taken a rather apathetic role around environmental issues, but what is clear is that God really does want us to care, be custodians of, and dare I say, love the world with all our hearts. This isn’t a feel good, fluffy, “up in the air” type of service; it’s a really practical call for action. This means we need to be inconvenienced for the environment, yes, inconvenienced. This means maybe not driving such a big car, so far and on your own, flying less, growing food our backyards and recycling our waste. What it really means is throwing away our consumerist nature, realising that more is NOT better. This will not be easy and will be a process, but the best way to start any habit is to start.
This being said I look forward to this journey with you and hope what I offer is of interest to you. Next week I’ll take a look at the recent international climate change conference in Copenhegen and discuss the conference that could have been so much more.
Peace be with you! Meggan.
Image from: http://askehbl.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/climate-change1.jpg