We are becoming aware of what we are: Boundless love is the Source of life and the longing of the soul. As we live from the Source, we become more curious about life, which means we question, ceaselessly.
As a scientist, more damaging elements have taken place in volcanic eruptions than all the fuel driven vehicles created since time began. Mt. St. Helens is a prime example, yet, the climate change advocates blame fossil fuels as the main culprit for earth’s “uncleanliness”. I totally disagree. I am a total advocate of continually trying to cleanse the planet, but earth does this over time (eons, perhaps). Is this merely a political ploy to advantage those whose knowledge is affixed to an agenda?
Dear Larry,
Thanks for this important question!
As you, a scientist, must know, the primary cause of catastrophic climate change today isn’t debatable. It’s us, with our disastrously high levels of CO2 and methane emissions. We have the power to prevent the worst of this collapse, so we must do so. The scientific consensus about it is overwhelming. Other than respect for the science itself, and a desire to protect humankind and the ecosystem from collapse, I can think of no other “agenda” behind it.
This consensus is old news.
In 1970, in high school, I learned from our biology teacher about the “greenhouse effect” of CO2 emissions dangerously warming the planet. At the age of 16, I was appointed to the federal Student Council on Pollution and the Environment, through which, with a small group of other students, I got to meet the Secretary of the Interior, an affable Republican named Wally Hickel. I asked him this question: “Shouldn’t we be taxing oil and gas at a high rate in order to reduce emissions of CO2 that are heating up the planet?” His answer: “Young man, what you are saying is true. But your solution is politically impossible.” I was happy that he recognized the fact of the climate threat. But I was appalled that he had no intention of making it politically possible to address it. For over fifty years since, cowardly politicians have had their way with this issue. And now, many of them have the audacity to deny the existence of the problem altogether. Wally Hickel would be “cancelled” out of the Republican Party today! And now we’re living with the terrible consequences of this denial.
You are right that a series of volcanic eruptions could upend the earth’s climate, as has happened in the past. But how does that take us off the hook for dealing with our greenhouse gas emissions today? With billions of human beings now occupying this earth, I’m sure you’d agree that if mega-eruptions from volcanoes were imminent, and we had technology available to prevent them, we’d be obliged to use it. That’s exactly where we are now, with climate disaster literally breathing down our necks. We have the capacity to greatly curtail greenhouse gas emissions. The moral imperative for decisive action is undeniable.
~ Rev. Jim Burklo
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Comments