Moral Imperatives for Climate Action from a Bahá’í Perspective

Stephen A. Fuqua

www.greenbahai.com

Version 3, October 2014

The Climate Crisis

James Lawrence Powell, http://www.jamespowell.org/

Goals for this Presentation

• Three threats from climate change

• Bahá’í teachings as an ethical framework

• Causes and solutions, from both physical and spiritual perspectives.

Living Our Faith

It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action…. That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicatethhimself to the service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of the earth.

Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, p250

Temperature Change

2014 National Climate Assessment (this version online only)

Temperature Change

Business as Usual

2014 National Climate Assessment (this version online only)

Temperature Change

Significant Reductions - 3°

2014 National Climate Assessment (this version online only)

Business as Usual - 6°

Making it Personal

96° F is the average high in July, in Dallas, TX. Which would you prefer as the new reality?

A) 99° F

B) 104° F

Impact: Heat Waves

“Heat waves have become more frequent and intense, especially in the West. Cold waves have become less frequent and intense across the nation.”

2014 National Climate Assessment, p20

Death Toll from Heat Waves

• The European heat wave in 2003 killed an estimate 70,000 people.

• The Russian heat weave of 2010 is estimated to have killed 55,000 people.

• A heat weave hit Chicago in 1995, with 465heat-related deaths recorded. Other sources suggest > 700 deaths.

(1) Robine, et al, Comptes Rendus Biologies. (2) Barriopedro, et al, Science. (3) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Living Our Faith

Equality / Oneness of Humanity…

… it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.

Bahá’u’lláh, The Hidden Words, #68 Arabic

Impact: Sea Levels Rise

UNEP/GRID Geneva; University of Deca; JRO Munich; The World Bank; World Resource Institute, Washington D.C.

Impact: Sea Level Rise

2014 National Climate Assessment, p584

Living Our Faith

Harmony of Science and Religion…

… religion must be in accord with science and reason … For God has endowed us with faculties by which we may comprehend the realities of things, contemplate reality itself.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p289

Impact: Tropical Cyclones

Kirtman, et al, IPCC 5th Assessment, p993

Impact: Tropical Cyclones

Significant increase (45%) in number of Category 4- 5 TCs in the North Atlantic region.

Significant increase (15%) in number of Category 4- 5 TCs in the Southwest Pacific region.

Kirtman, et al, IPCC 5th Assessment, p993

Some rights reserved by mansunides, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mansunides/

Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda

6,155 dead28,626 injured 1,785 missing

1,140,332 houses damaged

Cost 7% of GDP

NDRRMC Situation Report on the effects of typhoon Yolanda; GDP size from Regional Profile: Eastern Visayas

“Superstorm” Sandy

In New Jersey…

37 Dead

346,000 homes damaged or destroyed

Cost $37 billion / 7% of GDP

Henry, et al, Economic Impact of Hurricane Sandy; 2012 GDP from Bureau of Economic Analysis, http://www.bea.gov/itable/

Some rights reserved by DVIDSHUB, https://www.flickr.com/photos/dvids/

Living Our Faith

Moderation…

Whoso cleaveth to justice, can, under no circumstances, transgress the limits of moderation … If carried to excess, civilization will prove as prolific a source of evil as it had been of goodness when kept within the restraints of moderation.

Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p33

U.S. Sources of Emissions

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2):– 38% electricity generation– 31% transportation

• Methane (CH4):– 30% natural gas/petroleum– 23% cow, sheep, etc.

digestion– 17% from landfills

• Nitrous Oxide (NOx):– 69% agricultural– 9% industry /chemical

production

Some rights reserved by Ben Amstutz, http://www.flickr.com/photos/infinitewilderness/

EPA, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks

Mitigation – Energy

• Renewable energy – Good, but continued used of natural resources

Mitigation – Energy

• Renewable energy – Good, but continued used of natural resources

• Nuclear – Fukushima? Scary?

Mitigation – Energy

• Renewable energy – Good, but continued used of natural resources

• Nuclear – Fukushima? Scary?

• Only one sure solution – use less energy

– Increasingly efficient equipment

– Reduced consumption.

Increasingly efficient equipment

Mitigation – Energy

• Renewable energy – Good, but continued used of natural resources

• Nuclear – Fukushima? Scary?

• Only one sure solution – use less energy

– Increasingly efficient equipment, and

– jReduced consumption

Living Our Faith

Needs of the age…

Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies and requirements.

Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p213

Mitigation - Food

• Less beef, lamb, hard cheeses (high CH4).

– http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/

• Grass-fed beef is better (lower NOx).

– http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1356398465642/

• Choose organic when possible (lower NOx).

Mitigation - Food

• Local is not necessarily better (high NOx worse than high CO2).– http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/09/04/how-

green-is-local-food/

• Reduce food waste – plan your meals before shopping, store food wisely, compost when possible (lower CH4 due to less landfill waste).– http://www.thinkeatsave.org/

Mitigation – Less Stuff!

• Before buying…– Does it serve a

meaningful purpose?

– Is there a lower packaging and/or smaller alternative?

– What happens to it when you’re done?

• Reduce, reuse, recycle

2011, S. Fuqua

Living Our Faith

Interdependence of All Creation…

… all created things are closely related together and each is influenced by the other or derivethbenefit therefrom …. co-operation and reciprocity are essential properties … without which the entire creation would be reduced to nothingness.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Ḥuqúqu’lláh—The Right of God, p7

Contingency Planning

• Increased ecosystem management to support species survival.

• Personal, local, regional, national, and international adaptation plans.

• Build resilient communities.

Case Study: Social Cohesion

• “vibrant, tight-knit neighborhoods … fare better in a disaster,” to quote NPR.

• Death rate for adjacent, racially and economically similar neighborhoods:

– Englewood 33/100,000

– Autumn Gresham’s 3/100,000

• Difference: an active, supportive community where people get out into the neighborhood.

NPR Interview with Eric Klinenberg, 2013

Core Activities

• Children’s Classes, Junior Youth Groups, Study Circles, and Devotionals can play a role in…

Core Activities

• Children’s Classes, Junior Youth Groups, Study Circles, and Devotionals can play a role in…

– Building bonds of social cohesion / resiliency

Core Activities

• Children’s Classes, Junior Youth Groups, Study Circles, and Devotionals can play a role in…

– Building bonds of social cohesion / resiliency

– Learning about environmental stewardship (particularly the junior youth groups)

Core Activities

• Children’s Classes, Junior Youth Groups, Study Circles, and Devotionals can play a role in…

– Building bonds of social cohesion / resiliency

– Learning about environmental stewardship (particularly the junior youth groups)

– Strengthening our awareness of spirituality rather than excess materialism and over consumption.

“Spirit of Sustainability Education” -from Bahá’í Junior Youth groupshttp://vimeo.com/63667441

New Day Community Garden, at theBahá’í Center of AustinS. Fuqua, Feb 2014

Summary

• Climate change is occurring; its impacts are and will be diverse and disastrous.

• Moral framework for action:

– Harmony of science and religion

– Practical realization of “oneness of humanity”, service to humanity, unity.

– Interdependence of creation

– Spirituality, not materialism and consumption

A Poem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJuRjy9k7GA

This poem, which was read at the Opening Ceremony of the recent UN Climate Summit, has nothing to do with religion. Its grand expression of overcoming fear and despair with hope and a righteous resolve should inspire all those who call themselves “world citizens”. The poet is Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner, who hails from the Marshall Islands.

Living Our Faith

Take One Step…

O SON OF LOVE! Thou art but one step away from the glorious heights above and from the celestial tree of love. Take thou one pace and with the next advance into the immortal realm and enter the pavilion of eternity.

Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words, #7 Persian

For more information

This presentation and all sources are be posted on

www.greenbahai.com

This photo taken at the “Bahá’í Gardens” on the slopes of Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel, shows a marvelous diversity of water and temperature

appropriate plants. S. Fuqua / T. Homayoun, November 2010.