Ice Caps and Fossil Fuel

I came across this cartoon on the Christian Century website (http://christiancentury.org/dept_cmarks.lasso). When I first saw it I was disgusted. I don't really know why. My hunch, however, is that my visceral reaction was not rooted so much in the cartoon – more on that bellow – but on the plausibility of the proposition being presented. Of course that's the wonder of truly great satire – its possibility. I read it again – my reaction the same, this could happen! I can hear it now on the evening CBC, morning radio programs, print and electronic news services: Ottawa announces new plan to make good on ice cap erosion! The sub title – so much oil and no ice! Why is it that when it comes to the earth we are so ridiculously narcissistic to the point of being co-conspirators in our own demise as a species? I don't think we're going to kill the earth, far from it. The story of evolution, in its ever unfolding narrative – indeed God's co-creative narrative as a whole, is that life will adapt. The question is becoming: will humans be part of the next evolutionary and ecological adaptation? Have we come to a place where our collective cultural naiveté is so great that we really think global warming is a plot by keen environmentalists to further an economic agenda that is lining their pockets?

Just the other day I had a conversation with a person who completely and absolutely does not believe in global warming. Rather than come to terms with the way in which homo-sapiens are changing the ecological reality of all life on earth, these people insisted that this was all just another cycle. The earth has warmed before…it will cool again. Besides they pointed to a study they read (but didn't remember where) that claimed that when it came to meeting Canada's Kyoto targets that the trees that are counted don't actually help reduce carbon build up and green house gases. Even more shocking is an article I read in a Canadian automotive magazine that claims if you really wanted to do something great for the environment we'd all drive H3s (that's short hand for Hummer 3^rd version) because in an ashes to ashes study the H3 is more environmental that the Toyota green car the Prius. A Hummer – environmental – come on! Let's be honest we've completely take the Genesis directive to have dominion over the earth to its farcical extreme. The question we need to ponder as followers of Jesus is what our faith response needs to be. We need to ask ourselves the tough question as to whether or not the way we're living our lives reflects the glory of God or not? When the air is filled with smog and floating particles of pollution and we can't drink the water or go for a swim and flooding and wonky weather is normal…how easy will it be to see the face of God in creation?