Spirituality and Ecological Hope

Today from Margaret Swedish:

Just a few tidbits for this day:

Canada confirmed in March that this past winter was that nation's warmest ever recorded since record-keeping began in 1948. Temperatures have been pretty much "stuck above normal" for the past 8 years.  April this year was also the warmest ever recorded in the US.  And, of course, 2005 was the warmest year ever recorded globally.

In New England where the winter was also unusually warm, health officials are expecting a sharp increase in cases of Lyme disease this year because it was not cold enough to kill off the ticks that spread it.  I know a few folks who have had this disease, and a couple of them had permanent physiological problems as a result.  West Nile Virus, which I managed to get a few years ago, along with a few close friends and neighbors in Takoma Park, Maryland, is another global warming disease threat, since mild winters also keep the mosquito population booming.

Tonight, Bush will give a national address on immigration in an effort to gain some political ground for his failing administration(29% approval rating, according to new Harris poll).  I doubt you will ever hear him give a natioanl address on the crisis of global warming and the contribution of this nation to the climate change that truly threatens life as we know it.

Global warming is a hazard to your health, and we need to start building the federal and state level programs to address the increase of these types of diseases that will become more a part of our lives.  However, that would mean acknowledging that global warming is real — and that would mean addressing its causes=human activity causing exponential rises in greenhouse gas emissions — and that would mean addressing our way of life.

While they frigthen us about the bird flu pandemic that may never happen (international efforts to stem the spread of it are working), there is little talk about these real diseases already here that have caused death, permanent damage, and prolonged illness for tens of thousands of people.   And certainly, no one wants to speak of them as global warming diseases.  However they came to us initially, the increase in these diseases will now be directly related to our warming winters.

Ecological hope has a lot to do with growing up and facing these threats honestly, rather than living in denial.  Ecological hope has a lot to do with addressing not just the symptoms and results, but the findamental causes of these crises.  Otherwise, we will continue to react to the terrible things as they happen (and worsen), rather than working towards mitigation and reversal of the destructive human activity causing global warming and climate change to begin with.