Oregon State University - Climate report: 'Uncharted territory' imperils life on Earth

[OKIsItJustMe]

Climate report: ‘Uncharted territory’ imperils life on Earth

October 24, 2023

CORVALLIS, Ore. – An international coalition of climate scientists says in a paper published today that the Earth’s vital signs have worsened beyond anything humans have yet seen, to the point that life on the planet is imperiled.

William Ripple, a distinguished professor in the Oregon State University College of Forestry, and former OSU postdoctoral researcher Christopher Wolf are the lead authors of the report, and 10 other U.S. and global scientists are co-authors.

“Without actions that address the root problem of humanity taking more from the Earth than it can safely give, we’re on our way to the potential collapse of natural and socioeconomic systems and a world with unbearable heat and shortages of food and freshwater,” Wolf said.

Published in BioScience, “The 2023 State of the climate report: Entering uncharted territory” notes that 20 of 35 planetary vital signs the authors use to track climate change are at record extremes.

…

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz152

[redqueen]

1. Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!

Voting for Dem candidates is the least we can do.

There's so much more we can change about the way we live to help make a difference.

[Martin Eden]

2. If Republicans really care about children who've been born

They would be strong advocates for taking action to reduce greenhouses gases and to protect Earth's environment & resources for future generations.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. I have come to suspect that Republicans wrote us off in the 1980's.

Warnings about the effect that “greenhouse gases” would have on the climate date back to LBJ at least. Jimmy Carter was aware of the threat. That was part of the motivation for his Solar Plan https://democraticunderground.com/1127168990

I think that the Reagan Administration may have concluded that we were doomed, and (frankly) if scientists like James Hansen were correct in their predictions, they would all be dead before things got too bad… So, “eat, drink & be merry!"

[Martin Eden]

4. They wrote us off when they became shills for corporate greed

An objective understanding of catastrophic climate change and its causes was in direct conflict with the profits of major campaign donors, so guess what influenced their policy agenda?

Their propaganda agenda was to deny the science and weave that into "conservative" ideology and beliefs of voters. Drill Baby Drill was the patriotic thing to do!

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. I find this explanation insufficient

Around the same time, “Sting” released his song Russians.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CavQo-xF4xp/

…
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
What might save us, me and you
Is if the Russians love their children too

I believe Republicans love their children no less than the Russians do. Would they doom their own children for the same of money? Unless (that is) they calculated that their children were already doomed.

[Martin Eden]

7. The vast majority of Republican voters don't believe their children are doomed

Because they believe the propaganda put out by the climate change deniers. Also there's a strong belief on the religious right that the End Times are coming soon, so Earth's environment doesn't much matter at this point.

As for the politicians funded by the fossil fuel industry, there's an old adage that you can't get a man to understand something when his paycheck depends on him not understanding it. They want their office, their fame, and their fortune.

Human beings have an amazing though sometimes deplorable capacity to rationalize, compartmentalize, and hold contradictory beliefs at the same time. Short term rewards often take precedence over future consequences they conveniently convince themselves might not come to pass.

All you need to do is observe the rhetoric and the actions of the politicians and rightwing media figures who continue to dispute manmade climate change and government policies to combat it.

Are they all as ignorant as Tommy Tuberville? Most of them have enough brains to know that catastrophic climate change is very likely to have terrible conequences for their children and grandchildren, yet they oppose measures to diminish the severity of those consequences.

Why?

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. Why?

I have come to believe that faced with what they perceived to be an unavoidable fate, they chose to, “eat, drink and be merry.”

The “Second Coming” argument has been used by Evangelicals to argue for and against ecological preservation.

Second Coming Ecology

We care for the environment precisely because God will create a new earth.
DAVID NEFF | JULY 18, 2008

…

Too frequently (in my opinion) “religion” is used to justify a position someone holds, rather than leading them to hold that position. Consider the phrase, “Islamic Terrorism.”
What Are Islam’s Teachings On Terrorism And Extremism?

…
Contextualizing Islam’s Response to Terrorism and Extremism

There are often misconceptions associating Islam with terrorism and extremism. However, it is essential to differentiate between the true teachings of Islam and the distorted interpretations propagated by extremists. Islam explicitly prohibits acts of terrorism and condemns the taking of innocent lives. The actions of a few misguided individuals do not represent the broader Islamic community.

…

The “religious right’s” views on the climate seem not to be motivated by their religious views, merely justified by them. Their views on the environment seem to be more a product of their politics than their religion.

PEW RESEARCH CENTER | NOVEMBER 17, 2022

HOW RELIGION INTERSECTS WITH AMERICANS’ VIEWS ON THE ENVIRONMENT
4. Religious groups’ views on climate change

BY BECKA A. ALPER
Most Americans say the Earth is getting warmer, including a narrow majority (53%) who say it is mostly because of human activity, such as burning fossil fuels. Most also view global climate change as an extremely or very serious problem. Assessing potential consequences, 62% foresee rising numbers of extreme weather events, and 58% think an increase in refugees and displaced people is likely within the next 30 years because of global climate change. In addition, 54% expect food and water shortages, and 46% expect climate change to impact the quality of life.

There is a consistent pattern by religious group on these and other questions about climate change. In general, evangelical Protestants tend to be the most likely of all major U.S. religious groups to express skeptical views. For instance, about a third of evangelical Protestants say the Earth is getting warmer mostly due to human activity (32%), while similar shares say the Earth is getting warmer mostly due to natural patterns (36%) or that they are unsure or not convinced the Earth is getting warmer (32%). Meanwhile, members of non-Christian religions and people who do not identify with any religion – particularly self-described atheists and agnostics – consistently express the highest levels of concern about climate change. Other Christian subgroups, such as Catholics, generally fall somewhere in between.

These patterns are heavily influenced by politics. Evangelical Protestants largely identify with the GOP, and Republicans are less likely than the overall public to say the Earth’s warming is mostly caused by human activity. Evangelicals and Republicans also are less inclined than the general public to see climate change as a serious problem, as well as to say various negative consequences are likely to occur in the coming decades because of global warming. Meanwhile, atheists and adults who identify with other, non-Christian religions are mostly Democrats, who tend to be much more alarmed about climate change and supportive of government actions to combat it.

Those who do not think climate change is a serious problem offer several reasons for their views. Among the five options provided in the survey, two of the most commonly cited reasons are that there are much bigger problems in the world today and that God is in control of the climate.

…

[Martin Eden]

10. Heavily influenced by politics and religion

That's pretty much what I've been saying -- their Republicans are less likely to believe climate change is manmade and/or not much of a threat, and rightwing Christians aren't concerned because End Times are coming and/or it's all in God's hands.

"Eat drink and be merry" suggests they actually believe in man-made climate change but we're all doomed no matter what so might as well have fun with the time we have.

Those two scenarios for the most part are NOT compatible.

[OKIsItJustMe]

11. I tell people, "I can rationalize anything."

The “eat drink and be merry” is how I explain how Reagan and Watt rationalized not acting. Reagan was a flat-out denialist.

Both Bushes apparently accepted the reality, but found it politically expedient not to place too much stress on addressing it.

Poppy Bush famously called Al Gore “Ozone Man”

Scientific American: Bush Had a Lasting Impact on Climate and Air Policy

The late 41st president started the national climate assessment and enacted policies to target acid rain
By Scott Waldman, E&E News on December 3, 2018

…

Through legislation he signed in 1990, Bush started the National Climate Assessment, a sweeping study documenting climate change’s impacts on the United States. The Trump administration released the latest iteration on Black Friday and has since downplayed its definitive body of research, making false claims about its accuracy and inadvertently drawing more attention to the clear science that shows Americans will be increasingly at risk as a result of climate change.

…

“We know that the future of the Earth must not be compromised,” Bush told the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1990. “We bear a sacred trust in our tenancy here and a covenant with those most precious to us—our children and theirs.”

…

It was during Bush’s presidency that the federal government stepped up its work on global warming and established an ongoing account of the latest research into how the country would be affected by climate change. Bush was also president during the development of the Montreal Protocol, which drastically cut the chlorofluorocarbons that were destroying the ozone layer.

…

“If the climate change within the range of current predictions actually occurs, the consequences for every nation and every aspect of human activity will be profound,” acting assistant secretary of State Richard Smith wrote in a 1989 memo.

…

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. Grist: The pope leads 1.4 billion Catholics. Getting them to care about the climate is harder than he thought.

The pope leads 1.4 billion Catholics. Getting them to care about the climate is harder than he thought.

What could be more “Catholic” than following the teachings of the Pope?

[Martin Eden]

12. What could be more "Christian" than following the teachings of Jesus?

And yet, so many conservative "Christians" reject the Sermon on the Mount" as weak and liberal.

[OKIsItJustMe]

13. Well, it's certainly "Liberal."

“Mahatma” Gandhi had a great love of it. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=gandhi+%22sermon+on+the+mount%22

FWIW: I’ve never heard a “Conservative Christian” criticize the “Sermon on the Mount” but I can”t say I spend much time with them.

[Martin Eden]

14. A few weeks a ago, very publicized

A pastor wrote a article about members of his church complaining about the content of a sermon in which the pastor was quoting the words Jesus spoke on the Mount.

Can't remember the pastor's name, but the article was all over DU.

[OKIsItJustMe]

15. Ah! There's the problem!

Last edited Wed Oct 25, 2023, 08:48 PM - Edit history (3)

It may have been all over DU, but I am not.

Without having read the article, I doubt that there was widespread criticism of “The Sermon on the Mount” by “Conservative Christians.” (Fortunately, ignorance of the issue does not prevent me from arguing against it. I am an American! ) I think it more likely that they criticized the pastor’s interpretation.

In my limited experience “Conservative Christians” are prone to believe that the Bible is “Authoritative” and “Inerrant.” (Don’t ask me how…) In any case, since the Bible is “inerrant,” if a message they don’t like is drawn from it, it must be the “interpretation” which is in error.

To criticize “The Sermon on the Mount” is to ignore multiple chapters of red letters.


Ah, here we go: https://www.npr.org/2023/08/05/1192374014/russell-moore-on-altar-call-for-evangelical-america

MOORE: Well, it was the result of having multiple pastors tell me essentially the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount parenthetically in their preaching - turn the other cheek - to have someone come up after and to say, where did you get those liberal talking points? And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ, the response would not be, I apologize. The response would be, yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak. And when we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis.

“The Pledge of Allegiance” was written by a (former) Baptist preacher who had been forced out of the pulpit by members of his congregation who accused him of preaching “socialism.” (He argued that he was simply preaching “the Gospel.”) FWIW: His version of “The Pledge” did not include the words “Under God.”

[Martin Eden]

16. Here's a link to the article

Evangelicals Are Now Rejecting 'Liberal' Teachings of Jesus

An evangelical leader is warning that conservative Christians are now rejecting the teachings of Jesus as "liberal talking points."

Russell Moore, former top official for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) who is now the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, said during an interview aired on NPR's All Things Considered this week that Christianity is in a "crisis" due to the current state of right-wing politics.

"Multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching—'turn the other cheek'—[and] to have someone come up after to say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?'" Moore said.

"When the pastor would say, 'I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ' ... The response would be, 'Yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak," he added. "When we get to the point where the teachings of Jesus himself are seen as subversive to us, then we're in a crisis."

[OKIsItJustMe]

17. Thanks!

The article seems to be referring to the interview I linked to.

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/05/1192374014/russell-moore-on-altar-call-for-evangelical-america

I don’t know, this is one guy saying, a bunch of pastors are telling me that they’re hearing this. (How many pastors? How many parishioners did they hear it from?)

Regardless, it’s upsetting, but, then people have been twisting “Holy Books” to their own design for a long time (e.g. the pious Amrican slaveholders who cited Biblical passages to justify themselves.) The abolitionists chose to disregard those passages as no longer applicable.

Still the fact that any self-professed “Christian” would choose to disregard the “Sermon on the Mount” or at least particular verses from it is dismaying to say the least.

Calling the Sermon on the Mount weak or too liberal is ‘blasphemy and heresy’ | Opinion


https://www.folger.edu/explore/shakespeares-works/the-merchant-of-venice/read/1/3/

ANTONIO, ⌜aside to Bassanio⌝
Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose!
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!

[Martin Eden]

18. Antonio's aside to Bassanio can be applied to a number of modern day charlatans

The most prominent being the one who is

not just the most irreligious president in modern history. His entire worldview makes a mockery of core Christian values like humility and empathy and care for the poor.

The quote above is from the article linked below:
Half of evangelicals believe Trump is anointed by God

The article is based on an interview with Reza Aslan (a convert to Evangelical Christianity) and a number of surveys which add some nuance to the title of the article.

Very few things are entirely black & white and we should avoid painting with too broad a brush, but generalities can be necessary to explain macro trends which seriously impact our society. I would argue the near cultish attachment to Donald Trump -- a pathological liar, malignant narcissist, and very likely a criminal -- by "conservative" evangelicals poses a serious threat to American democracy and to the environment which is the subject of this thread.

On a personal basis these can by very nice people who donate to worthy charities and obviously love their children, but they vote in great numbers for politicians and policies which are terribly destructive to life on Earth and contradict the core teachings of Jesus Christ.

I'm agnostic while my wife is a practicing Christian. Religious faith is a very personal thing. Religious freedom is the freedom to practice one's own beliefs -- not to impose them on others. America's foundational separation of church and state is the greatest guarantor of freedom for all faiths or lack thereof. The "Christian Nationalist" movement gaining steam in the Republican Party is in my view un-American and fueled in no small part by the strain of xenophobia which has always been an undercurrent in this country.

I think Trump's popularity touched upon that undercurrent. He validated some of the worst impulses and prejudice which had became less acceptable as minorities (racial, gender, religious) formerly discriminated against gained more equal rights. He expressed their resentments, triggered their fears, broke norms with an in-your-face braggadocio, and they love him for it. From there it was a small step to believe he was anointed by God to save their America from all the perceived threats to their way of life.

Everyone is of course free to believe what they want, but we have a real problem when those beliefs endanger civil rights and the long term environmental health of this planet upon which we depend for life itself.

[OKIsItJustMe]

19. At Thomas Jefferson's request 3 accomplishments appear on his gravestone

Last edited Fri Oct 27, 2023, 09:03 PM - Edit history (1)

Author of the
Declaration
of
American Independence
of the
The Statute of Virginia
for
Religious Freedom
and father of the
University of Virginia

(If you’re not familiar with it, check it out! It sets precedent for the 1st Amendment.)

The “Christian Nationalists” are nothing new. They’ve been around a long time. However, their claims that “America was created as a Christian nation” should be quickly laid to rest.

“Christian Nationalists” like to point to our money. “It says ‘in God we Trust!’” True, but:

1. If our money were any indication of us being a “Christian Nation” wouldn’t it say “In Jesus We Trust?” or perhaps “In Christ We Trust?"
2. The motto wasn’t put there by an act of Congress or something. The mint liked it. Sometimes money had the motto, sometimes it didn’t.
3. Our earliest money, if it had a motto on it, tended to have the national motto, “E Pluribus Unum” (of course!) it wasn’t until during the “Civil War” that currency was issued with “In God We Trust.” (clearly, someone in the mint felt that “E Pluribus Unum” was a little inappropriate at the time…)

“Christian Nationalists” like to point to the words “One nation, Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. OK, but:

1. (As with our currency) if the intention were to establish that this was a Christian nation, wouldn’t Jesus or Christ be used (instead of God?)
2. The Pledge of Allegiance wasn’t written until 1892. It was written by an employee of a magazine for school children. It had no official standing until 1942.
3. The original version, written by a former Baptist preacher, did not include the words “Under God” he did not believe that this nation was “Under God.” He had been forced out of the pulpit by parishioners who claimed he was preaching “Socialism” (he believed he was preaching “The Gospel.”) To be fair to his parishioners, he was a “Christian Socialist.” The words “Under God” were not added until 1954, thanks to lobbying efforts by the Knights of Columbus (among others.)

Our Declaration of Independence has little to say about religion

• the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them
• We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

A clergyman, (John Witherspoon) was among the signatories. Certainly, if we were created as a Christian nation, the name of Jesus or the title Christ would appear, and definitely not “Nature’s God!” (With words like that, you could make a decent case for us being created as a “Wiccan Nation.”)

Our (unamended) Constitution has little to say on the subject of religion, other than:

no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States

Please, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you believe any of this, or that you’re ignorant of it, I just get so tired of hearing “Christian Nationalism” creeping into our imagined national history.

[Martin Eden]

20. We are in agreement on the nation's Founding

My point is that a not insignificant segment of US voters and today's Republican Party insist America was founded as a Christian nation (in contradiction of the evidence you provided that I am well aware of) and/or want to make it one.

It is a political movement on the right and an element in the culture war by the "conservative" voting base.

[OKIsItJustMe]

21. Yes, I understood, and fully agree, I just went off on a rant... I apologize for any confusion/offense

I just get enraged by “Christian Nationalism” (especially among clergy.) I’ve heard it expressed oh so innocently, and defended with “well, that’s what people say…” Yes. well, people say lots of things that are wrong…

The thing we have to recognize is that this is not a new phenomenon, nor (sadly) is it unique to the U.S.

I blame it all on Constantine.

[Martin Eden]

22. Religion has long been a means to exert control

And to advance the ambitions of those who seek wealth and power.

Not sure who is more dangerous -- the charlatans or the real zealots.

[Caribbeans]

5. What was going on here, 10 or so years ago?

People can try to make this D VS R thing (Divide and Conquer!) but the facts speak for themselves.

The US GOVERNMENT (both parties) love fossil fuels. OUR VERY ECONOMY IS BASED ON IT - THANK DICK AND HANK

It's why hardly anything regarding actual renewable energy has moved forward since Reagan ripped Carters' solar panels off the White House.