“Living on an Island Planet: Musings on 350”

As a teenager, I remember watching in fascination as Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969. The images were broadcast on television to millions of people around the world. I still remember the picture of the earth as seen from the moon, a beautiful blue and white ball suspended in space. For once, we were able to step back from our far too close up view of the world and were able to see it for what it really is, an island planet “hanging on nothing” as it moves through space. When you look at the earth from a distance, there are no national border lines, there are no racial, religious, political or social divisions, only a ball of rock, ice and water with its myriad life forms all interdependently connected, none able to survive without the others. When we see this view of our island planet, we merely see “home” and we don’t see it enough.
Despite our seeming disconnect to all things natural and this bigger view, we are not separate from, but are an integral part of the web of all life on this planet. What we do to the earth and to other species, we ultimately do to ourselves.
Recent scientific data shows that we may well have reached the “tipping point” when it comes to carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, the driving force behind climate change. The “safe” level for human beings is known to be 350 parts per million, but we have now reached a level of 387 parts per million. I’m no scientist, but I do know that we need to notice this and, if possible, do something now.
We have, to quote The American President, serious problems and we need serious people to solve them. But the magnitude of the crises facing us, and the literally global consequences of the decisions we make in response to those crises, are rapidly moving toward a critical mass. We must find the political and social will to do the very hard things that need to be done very quickly if there is, literally, to be a tomorrow.
Still, there is room for hope. October 24th has been designated the International Day of Action on Climate Change. People all around the world are coming together to call attention to the urgent need for action and I’m urging you to get involved. You’ll find all the information you need at www.350.org. We are moving toward, I believe, an ever-greater maturity in relation to our world, and in relation to our religious community’s responsibility in that world. Regardless of what we believe may await us in the hereafter, it is what we do here and now that counts. Future generations will thank us.