Upon leaving the church on Sunday November 24th, a member of the congregation asked if I’d listened to Michael Enright’s program earlier that morning concerning Global Food Security. The congregation member highlighted two facts from Enright’s conversation with Tim Benton, a professor of population ecology at the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England: (a.) we throw out 1.3 billion tons of food every year — that’s about a third of all the food produced in the world. (b.) if the rest of the world over consumed and wasted in the same way in which North Americans do, we would need 4 more planets (that’s right 4 more planets) to produce the amount of food that would be required for everyone on the planet to be as reckless and wasteful as North Americans.
The congregation member’s recollection of the Sunday Morning Edition with Michael Enright and Tim Benton stayed with me throughout the following week. (Tim Benton holds the rather intriguing title of UK Champion for Global Food Security) Apparently Pope Francis had further equated food waste with “stealing from the tables of the poor and the hungry.” I was stoked when Sunday Dec. 01st rolled around and words which went something like this issued forth: “Imagine, you and I convicted of ‘stealing from the tables of the poor and hungry.’ How’s that for a start on your Christmas Dinner and Holiday festivities planning? I would like to thank one of the members of this congregation for their uplifting Advent and Christmas spirit!” (…off-loading credit for a hard message ‘to a congregation member’ – responsible eh!!)
As I continued with the ‘self-righteous rant,’ I soon confessed: “Well, I can’t shuffle all the blame to one member of the congregation for calling us to more responsible thinking and acting as we plan and prepare for Christmas this year. It’s not all ‘that person’s fault’ that I’m warmed-up today. You see on Monday evening (Nov. 25th) I joined a few others from Central United at the Capitol Theatre for the launch of a brand new film called: Climate Change in Atlantic Canada. The film was produced by Dr. Ian J. Mauro – the Canada Research Chair in human dimensions of environmental change, from Mount Allison University. The film, Climate Change in Atlantic Canada, featured many places which you and I would know and recognize; places like Moncton, NB.
I could not believe the number of people at the Capitol on Monday evening. I am told the place holds 800 and they turned away a lot of people. David Suzuki was at the Capitol Theatre for the launch of this important new Canadian Film. Earlier that day, Dr. Suzuki had visited with Shale Gas protesters in Elsipogtog and had invited them to the film launch.
On Monday evening David Suzuki reminded me of some points he has made on previous occasions. He spoke of the difficulty of holding onto hope in a world where we seem bent on self-destruction. He reminded the audience what some of his colleagues are saying about the future given the behaviour of the human species:
• Sir Martin Reece, a Royal Astronomer in the United Kingdom, – one of the best, and top scientists in the United Kingdom, was asked on the BBC: What do you think the chances are that human beings as a species will still be here by the year 2100, and the British scientist’s answer was 50/50….
• James Lovelock, the man who coined the expression Gaia, has written a book called Climate Change on Gaia and from his research has concluded that by the year 2100 (only 87 years from now) …less than 10% of human beings will still be left on the planet.
• Clive Hamilton, an eco-philosopher in Australia, has written a book titled Requiem for a Species. Guess what species it’s a requiem for? It’s us. He is talking about the end of the human species.
David Suzuki also made another point on Monday night (Nov. 25th). Even though a lot of his colleagues are saying it’s too late; even though they are saying we can’t reverse the damage we have caused; it’s just a matter of time; give it up …it’s over; David Suzuki was still able to conclude on the side of hope rather than despair. He said: “I don’t see the point in saying it’s all over and just throwing our hands up in the air. What’s the point of saying it’s too late, for maybe we can pull back and give nature a rest, and in so doing realize results more surprising than we can imagine. If we can pull back and give nature a chance, nature may be far more generous than we deserve but we have got to start now.”
In Mr. Suzuki’s opinion, 4/5’s of the fossil fuel still in the ground needs to stay in the ground; but how can that happen if we can’t pull back? David Suzuki has said that the biosphere which is being so compromised by carbon emissions can be described in this way: “If the earth was the size of a basketball the biosphere would be equivalent to a thin layer of varnish on that basketball.”
Sunday Dec. 01st, 2013 was the First Sunday of Advent. It was the Sunday when many Christian Churches would have been lighting the first candle in their Advent Wreaths and naming it the Candle of Hope. We changed it up a little at Central United and called the First Candle in our Advent Wreath a Candle of Possibility to encourage consideration of all the possible creative things we might be doing to live with greater respect in creation and walk more lightly on planet Earth. We remembered our individual responsibility to be thinking more creatively and imaginatively in these challenging times and not simply leaving the obligation for finding new and better approaches ….to someone else!
Jim MacDonald