August
2007
September 4: Climate Emergency Fast0
Global warming doesn’t mean just a hotter summer. Around the world, sea levels are rising, precipitation patterns are changing, and drought, famine, and flood are increasing. Some animals are already unable to find the foods to which they have been adapted over millions of years, as rising temperature patterns change the location and availability of prey species and wreaks havoc on the food chain. And we are already beginning to see that this will be true for human beings as well.
We’re omnivores — evolutionarily adapted to eat just about anything — but we’re also cultural beings. That means that we get our food through uniquely human, learning-based means — particularly agriculture. When agriculture fails us, we’re in trouble.
We tend to forget this in the United States because we are so far distant, for the most part, from our agricultural food sources. Our food supply seems unaffected by wind, weather, cold, or heat. This is an illusion, of course. Somewhere in the world, someone is working closely with the soil, depending upon water and heat in due season, to produce that bell pepper at Trader Joe’s. It may well be that that person is hungry, or that their family is — but the bell pepper can get sold for a lot more to the United States than to local hungry people.
Now add into this mix the problems of global temperature and precipitation changes. People in subsistence economies, dependent upon agriculture, will feel it first, because they won’t be able to grow enough food. Drought and famine will touch them and their families first.
So what can we do?
On September 4, we invite you to join us in an international Climate Emergency Fast. On the first day of the new Congressional session, we want to show our solidarity with those who are already suffering the effects of global warming in developing nations, and to draw attention to the need for a responsible energy policy, one which will decrease greenhouse gases, and one in which the United States takes moral leadership in this moral issue. Specifically, the Climate Emergency Fast recommends that lawmakers
- authorize no new coal-fired plants
- freeze and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- invest $25 billion as a “downpayment” on the development of renewable and clean energy sources
Fasting is a personal spiritual discipline, but it can also be a way to non-violently draw attention to issues of great moral and political concern, and to demonstrate to those in power that we take seriously the needs of the powerless. Gandhi and Cesar Chavez, among others, fasted as part of their campaigns on behalf of the poor and disempowered. If you feel moved to take part in this fast for solidarity and moral responsibility, please add your name to the list at www.climateemergency.org. And let people know why you are fasting!
If you are fasting on September 4, and would like to add your name to a letter to be sent to our Senators and Representatives, please with your name and address, and let us know.
**If you have not fasted before, you may want to begin with a one-meal-per-day fast, or with a juice/water (no caffeinated beverages) fast. Pay close attention to the way your body is feeling, don’t embark on any physically strenuous activities, and expect to feel a little more tired and slow than usual.**