Last week my husband and I attended an environmental experience fair with our grandson. He is finishing kindergarten in a magnet school in West St. Paul that teaches about the earth and environmental responsibility. I was so pleased to think that our grandson and all these children were learning such important lessons — lessons that will affect the way they live their lives; lessons I wish we had all learned, because we all would do well to do more in caring for the earth.

I recently read an article about the disintegration of the Larsen Ice Shelf in Antarctica. It is projected that the shelf will break away completely in five years. This is being caused by global warming that has been increasing at an ever more rapid rate. It is a major disaster for our planet and still another symptom of the growing dangers of global warming and climate change. The reality is that this could be prevented if we took seriously the threat and began working immediately to decrease our carbon footprint in the world. The truth is, we can’t afford not to.

I remember the first Earth Day that took place in 1970. Our high school sponsored a special program, and it was clear that 45 years ago we knew we were abusing our planet. And yet, there were no noticeable changes in our lifestyles or in our exploitation of the earth after that. Now, we have just 20 years to turn things around or our children and grandchildren will pay the price for our irresponsibility — as one writer puts it, “a tremendous intergenerational injustice.”

Churches, including my own Lutheran church, have recognized our sinful treatment of the earth for years. In 1993, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America produced a social statement concerning care for creation. In it, the church acknowledged the severity of the crisis. The statement recognized the frightening damages to our environment — the depletion of non-renewable resources; loss of the variety of life through the rapid destruction of habitats; erosion of topsoil; pollution of the air; increasing volumes of wastes; and more. That was 22 years ago, and what real change have we Lutherans, and all the rest of American citizens, spearheaded since then? Little to none.

It’s time for all people to stand up and demand change — and it begins with each one of us. We can effect change by consciously working to reduce our carbon footprint in the world. Recycle and repurpose things, intentionally use less water, drive our cars less, do anything we can think of to care for this earth.

I suspect none of us has heard as much about the Larsen Ice Shelf as we have about deflated footballs in the NFL. We need to demand that our media do responsible reporting on significant issues that affect every person on this planet.

If you are a climate change denier, consider the fact that 90 percent of climatologists today agree that climate change and global warming are occurring at an ever-increasing rate of speed due to the activity of humans. If you had a child sick with cancer and nine of 10 doctors told you that your child had cancer and needed to be treated immediately, what would you do? Would you trust the one doctor who wasn’t sure of the diagnosis? Or, would you begin immediately to have your child treated? I know what I would do.

Resolve today to be a part of the effort to save our planet. If not for God’s sake, if not for your sake, do it for the sakes of our innocent children and grandchildren who will pay an unthinkable price for our unwillingness to act now.

 

Janet White is the interim senior pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Albert Lea.