{"id":7545,"date":"2019-12-03T07:16:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T12:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=7545"},"modified":"2019-12-02T13:26:14","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T18:26:14","slug":"december-8-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/december-8-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"December 8, 2019–Canary in the Coal Mine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Danny Stone, Marion, IA<\/b><\/p>\n

Warm-up Question<\/b><\/p>\n

When was the last time you participated in an emergency drill \u2013 fire, storm, intruder?<\/p>\n

Canary in the Coal Mine<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the 1880\u2019s, Scottish-American naturalist, John Muir, lead an effort to protect Yosemite from encroaching agriculture and development.\u00a0 Muir inspired our nation to establish a system of national parks, refuges, historic sites and recreation areas that would preserve \u201cAmerica\u2019s Crown Jewels.\u201d\u00a0 Muir founded the Sierra Club, which is still a leader in environmental movement.<\/p>\n

Marine biologist, Rachel Carson, shocked the world with her 1962 book, Silent Spring<\/i>.\u00a0 Carson detailed the connection between increased pesticide use and plummeting bird populations.\u00a0 Affected birds were some of the first to be added to the Endangered Species List that debuted in 1967.\u00a0 With 50 years of improved practices, many species have moved from being \u201cendangered\u201d to \u201cthreatened.\u201d\u00a0 The use of pesticides, fertilizers and genetically modified species is still a contentious issue, but some bird populations have rebounded.\u00a0 We no longer spray DDT, but scientists are now struggling to explain the dramatic disappearance of pollinating bees.<\/p>\n

Today, many scientists see our changing weather patterns, diminished arctic ice, increasing ocean temperatures, 500-year floods every four years, mass extinctions, and forest fires as desperate calls to action.\u00a0 Just a century ago, miners kept caged birds in the tunnels to warn of deadly mine gasses.\u00a0 According to climate activists, nations and industries are ignoring the warning signs and heading deeper into the mine.<\/p>\n

Like John Muir and Rachel Carson, a new generation of activists is rising to champion environmental causes.\u00a0 However, the new activists are not just seasoned naturalists or veteran biologists; they are young adults, teens, and children.\u00a0 Sixteen-year-old, Greta Thurnberg, has become one of the leaders of the youthful activists.\u00a0 She began her solitary protests in front of the Swedish Parliament in 2018.\u00a0 Within a year, her movement inspired thousands of students across the world to walk out of school and demand action.\u00a0 This August, Greta sailed across the Atlantic to address to the United Nations. She railed against complacency, \u201cYou have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Greta spent the fall touring the United States and Canada.\u00a0 With every speech, she called for immediate action.\u00a0 She spoke before the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and urged Congress to take \u201creal action.\u201d\u00a0 In November, she boarded a 48-foot catamaran destined for Madrid\u2019s United Nations climate summit.\u00a0 The 2019 UN Climate Change Conference summit begins on December 2 and will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/b><\/p>\n