livelive it!it!Denial Denial

(ain’t just a river in Egypt)(ain’t just a river in Egypt)

Dr. Mike EdwardsClimate Change

AdvisorCAFOD

Setting the scene

•Our relationship with nature•The causes of climate change•The impacts•What can I do?

When did we

lose touch with…

“I’m a lover of learning, and trees and open country won’t teach me anything, whereas men in town do.”

(Socrates)

“Nature takes

orders from man and

works under his

authority.”(Bacon)

“I think, therefore I am.”

Descartes separated spirit from matter, mind from nature.

“to make us masters and possessors of nature.”

!?

As we have separated from natureWe have made other connections!We have started to consume as a

Way to fill our lives with ‘meaning’.

Growth for Growth for growth’s sakegrowth’s sake

Population

Causes of climate change

Is climate change a serious threat?

“There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.”

(IPCC)

Climate models predict that by 2100:

- global temperature will rise by about 1.4-5.8°C -sea-level will rise by about 9-88cm.

Worst-case!

Short-term CO2 variation

R. A

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Why do the poorest people in developing countries suffer the impacts of climate change

first and worst?

Technology provides part of the solution.

But there will still be impacts… the CO2 you produce today will still be in the atmosphere in 2107!So what do we do?

Look with fresh eyesReconnect with the natural world

Be educated as well as educating others!

The knowledge is there,indigenous people can guide us

The message for all of us is clear…

Live simply,

sustainably

and in solidarity

Extracts from

The Call of Creation

byThe Catholic Bishops of

England and Wales(2002)

Damage to the environment will almost inevitably affect the poor

most of all.

The plight of the earth demonstrates that an

individualistic materialism cannot be allowed to drive out responsibility and love, and that care for those in need, and respect for the

rights of future generations, are necessary to sustain a proper life for

all.

As ‘co-creators’, our acts should reflect God’s own

love for creation. We ourselves are part of

creation, formed out of earth, and dependent on

the rest of creation for our continued existence: so we

are made aware that caring for creation is part

of caring for ourselves (Genesis 2:15)

Individual choices can seem insignificant when faced with such global

challenges. But multiplied individual actions can indeed make a real

difference.

This PowerPoint is based on an original presentation by Dr. Mike Edwards.

Images: Mike Edwards, Tina Leme, Jim Stipe, Richard Wainright, Simon Rawles, Ivan Nascimento, Anna Field, Jon Spaull, Philippe Mouguin, Microsoft clipart, NASA/www.visibleearth.nasa.gov

Bust of Socrates, Museé de Louvre, Paris. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. Official license

Portrait of Francis Bacon. Photographic reproduction of the original work of art is in the public domain due to copyright expiration.

Portrait of René Descartes, by Frans Hals, 1648. Museé de Lourve, Paris. This image is in the public domain due to copyright expiration.

Graph of short-term CO2 variation R. A. Rohde www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Carbon_Dioxide_Gallery

Some of the images used in this PowerPoint are from unknown sources.

This presentation must only be used for educational purposes.