Reverend Brooks Berndt, UCC Minister of Environmental Justice delivered a speech on the importance of being a climate prophet. In his speech titled “Ten Naked Truths: Prophetic Action and the Climate Crisis,” he states that we are faced with a science problem that is also a spiritual problem and a social change problem. He acknowledges that in unsettling times, we must be prophetic about the climate. This involves confronting the powerful with a demand, going public when needed, and staying focused on a long-distance race for environmental justice.
In the book Merchants of Doubt, historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway state that the fossil fuel industry invested in the same entities that manufactured doubt about the science that smoking was detrimental to one’s health. High level scientists with political connections ran effective campaigns to mislead the public and deny well-established scientific knowledge. Recently in the case of West Virginia vs. Environmental Protection Agency, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA has no power to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants without specific authorization from Congress. This drastically reduces the scope of the EPA’s authority to impose any regulations as granted in the 1970 Clean Air Act. Power plants remain the largest industrial source of air pollution and carbon emissions. Historically, the United States has released more global warming pollution than any other country, and it remains the world's second highest emitter. Clear moral obligations exist here.
Why is it essential to be climate prophets? Polluters pick and choose where to dump toxins, seeking areas of less accountability and pushback. When we look around, we see people who are looking for leaders to enact change. We must recognize that the climate crisis is caused by human activity. Stewardship of the earth is a task that Christians and most faith people agree is our joint responsibility. We must recognize that fossil fuels cause air pollution and climate hazards. We must understand that climate issues result in biodiversity loss and habitat loss for so many species. We must advocate energy conservation and the pursuit of renewables and clean energy. We must recycle, compost, plant native plants and trees, and attempt to live sustainable lifestyles. We must speak out and take action when poor or marginalized people are forced to bear a greater share of an environmental burden.
Aaron Wagner
Environmental Justice team
July 2, 2022
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