May 2017 Potpourri: World Environment Day (WED), Archives and Advocacy
"Sing
with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation."
Verse from the Hymn of Praise/Canticle. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978
Augsburg-Fortress Publishers, p. 61.
1. "Connecting
People to Nature" is the theme for the June 5th World Environment Day
(WED), encouraging us to personally adopt a motto of "I'm With Nature".
Since the 1970s this global platform, and its different yearly theme,
has helped raise awareness for taking action on urgent environmental
issues, thus safeguarding nature. The question for us is this: Is our
natural heritage at the heart of our identity, as a nation, state,
county, city, municipality, bioregion, etc.
The WED website www.worldenvironmentday.global
provides toolkits, multimedia, news, theme information, etc. The
international Environmental Sabbath initiative ("Give Earth a Rest")
began in 1985, and was launched by a World Conference of Women. It is
raised up yearly the first Sunday of June (June 4, 2017).
2. From the Archives: In 2007 the Reader's Digest published a $30.00, 320 pg. book, entitled Global Warning: The Last Chance for Change
about climate change (warming), prepared by Paul Brown. It noted that
the main cause of global warming was excessive emissions of Green House
Gases (GHS) due to human activities. During his year of research the
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere went up 4 ppm. Such continues to
increase, and to avoid the worst effects we must keep the global warming
increase down.
Regrettably,
ten years later, some reports now say the December 2015 Paris Agreement
on climate change seems outdated, for even if the emission limits goals
of nations are achieved (and they are voluntary, lacking any binding
enforcement mechanisms), climatologists expect a global warming of more
than double the goal limit of the agreement.
The Reader's Digest
book concludes with 30 pages of "What Can Be Done" suggestions. You,
the reader, are aware of such. So if you are in awe of the power of the
earth's climate and weather systems, be inspired to do something for
climate change, and do it today.
As
naturalist and veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough is quoted as
saying at the beginning of the book: "How could I look my grandchildren
in the eye and say I knew about this and I did nothing."
3.
Advocacy Advice comes from many sources. One from The Wilderness
Society newsletter offers 8 ways of making your voice heard on issues
that matter to you. Contact your members of Congress frequently, and at
key times; attend town hall meetings and public forums; meet directly
with your lawmakers; say thank you and applaud good actions; help
rallies and protests succeed; organize your own event; use your social
networks (FaceBook, Google+, Instagram, Linkedin, SnapChat, Twitter,
WhatsApp, Youtube, etc.); and contribute to media coverage, such as
newspaper letter-to-editor opportunities and urging coverage of an
issue.
