In part one of this blog I proposed the present battlefront for all humanity and left off with a highlight of how ambiguous the actual fight against climate change can be. There are two assumptions that I snuck in last time that I think are far too general and presumptuous but I won’t attempt to address them here either just draw your attention to them.
1. “Our battle is black and white, a simple good vs. evil scenario.”Just about every situation I’ve encountered before is not so simple as this. There are many shades in between.
2. “Everyone should engage in the fight.” This statement needs much qualification and far be it from me to tell you what your duty is.
Okay, with that out of the way, I want to give you my two cents on how to fight climate change at the intersection of me, God and the environment (MGaTE).
In my daily work I advocate for renewable energy to cut pollution and keep energy affordable and reliable. I know! It’s such a cool job! In this work I encounter different motivators. Money is definitely a primary motivator. Don't push this off on corporations and "the man" though, it's a primary motivator for the general public as well. Is it cheaper? Is it a better value? There are other motivators out there as well. Obligation, fear, pride, sense of belonging, political interests, etc. Some motivators you fight like fear, others you try to enhance like a sense of community. This is good enough for installing energy projects but it is only an intersection of me and the environment. It's also a privileged opportunity I have in my day job that is not an accessible battlefront for everyone. You might find it next to impossible to use your daily routine to have a tangible impact on clean energy solutions, waste reduction or other direct connections with the fight for our climate.
So where does God join the fight and how does that apply to every individual's opportunity to partner with Him and make a difference?
For every harmful habit, activity or product in today's culture of waste there exists a life-giving alternative.
I do believe this and will continue to believe this until I come across something that consistently breaks the rule. Take the word “life” here to mean God given life not simply biological processes. Think both physical and spiritual; like hope in new plant growth, joy in the hatching of an endangered bird, love of the interconnections in God's creation. If you’ve met Jesus already you might have a taste of what coming alive spiritually and physically can mean. If you don’t claim to know Jesus but know what I’m talking about with regards to feeling more alive than you did before then trust me, you’ve met Jesus.
As an exercise of this statement, I encourage you to try it out. Pick an activity that you might perceive as harmful to sustainable living. I'll give you a couple of examples and my rationale:
Buying single use plastics - convenient, widespread and unsustainable. The life giving alternatives? Come prepared. My experience has been that when I bring reusables with me it means I have to think ahead. Often this results in me packing some cutlery but also some food too. Even if it’s supplemental to the fast food that I’m planning for dinner, having an apple on hand has saved me from buying a candy bar or heavily packaged salty snack. I’m also too practical to just carry a fork around in my pocket. Now I have a “go bag” with water, a cloth shopping bag, cutlery and some small containers for leftovers. I feel so alive when I can quantify the garbage I diverted but more than that, I ate fruit and drank water instead of spending money to buy garbage with some low nutrition food inside. I’m richer and healthier for it and my soul seems to be fed too.
Driving a fossil fueled car - I make a point of riding my bike or walking when I have the opportunity. I can’t seem to ditch the car completely yet. The life giving alternative that comes with this physical exercise is obvious for health reasons. But beyond that, I’m more likely to visit the businesses near me because why would I ride an extra 20 mins each way when there is a store near me that has what I need? Sometimes (I’ve learned from experience) the services in my neighbourhood are worse than the ones a 10 minute drive away. I have to catch myself in my North American consumerist programming and go back to that grouchy hairdresser or aloof subway kid. Don’t run from them. Take some responsibility for your neighbour’s well being and form a relationship. You can do this when you keep going back and engaging with them. Once you have even 5 mins of collective relationship with someone it seems like a lifetime friendship compared to a one-time, 20 second interaction with a random cashier. This has huge benefits for my own sense of purpose in life and makes my walkable world that much better for others living there.
Go ahead, you try the next one. What’s one thing that has been bugging you but can’t justify an alternative because it seems too impractical or inconvenient. Forget about the big picture climate crisis for a moment. Focus on the life giving options at hand and place VALUE on that life. In my line of work it's called internalizing externalities. For example, a tax on carbon dioxide emissions means you're placing a value on not polluting, something that historically has had no value at all. We are bringing an external product into the economy.
For life as a whole, it’s more than money, there are other motivators to do the right thing. Consider "life to the full" as a valid pursuit and take action, one activity at a time. Think of something that you might not have valued in the past (like cashier relationships or being prepared) and place value on that action. Use love, joy and hope to run your world's economy. Don't leave them as externalities that are "nice to have" but internalize them and let them compete against money, convenience and tradition. This is how we can all fight climate change and it just so happens that it's right in line with the example of Jesus. The pursuit of a life with Christ changes the value set and produces life to the full for both you and the natural environment.
End note: If you think you've come across an unsustainable behaviour that doesn't have a life giving alternative let me know! I would love to hear what's challenging you.