Tuesday, 01 November 2011 19:40

Saint Paul Area Synod 2007 Resolution: Address Global Warming and Climate Change

WHEREAS the ELCA adopted a social statement in 1993, “Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice,” lifting up Christian concern for the environment that is “shaped by the Word of God spoken in creation, the Love of God hanging on a cross, the Breath of God daily renewing the face of the earth;” and

WHEREAS James Hansen, chief environmental scientist for NASA says that “We have at most ten years…to alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions,” that allowing such emissions to grow at the current reate will result in “a far more desolate world” “for all foreseeable generations,” and that “our children, grandchildren, and many more generations will bear the consequences of choices that we make in the next few years;” and

WHEREAS the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that unless urgent steps are taken to slow carbon emissions the earth’s average temperature will rise between 2.5-10.4 degrees Fahrenheit during this century; and

WHEREAS Britain’s highly respected Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in its September 2006 report noted that “The message is stark…The real challenge is making a radical shift within four years and driving down carbon intensity at unprecedented 9% a year for up to 20 years;” and

WHEREAS British economist Sir Nicholas Stern in a report commissioned by the British government, reports that the cost of curbing global warming amounts to about 1% of global gross domestic product while the cost of inaction would be between 5-20% of global gross domestic product forever; and

WHEREAS probable consequences of climate exchange include drastic changes in global weather patterns with unpredictable impacts on both water supply and food production across the earth, and the intensification of social dislocation of people and political strife between nations in an intensified struggle for control of scarce resources; and

WHEREAS there are practical solutions to the problem of global warming; therefore be it

RESOLVED that the Saint Paul Area Synod develop trainings in ministeriums and other formats in cooperation with Congregations Caring for Creation for synod clergy, lay associates and other church staff, to help them prepare for leading congregations, youth groups, and other ministries in moral deliberation concerning global climate change its impacts and solutions; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Saint Paul Area Synod in cooperation with Congregations Caring for Creation develop trainings for congregations to help their members address the issues, impacts and solutions concerning global climate change in the personal, parish, and political contexts; and be it further

RESOLVED that Saint Paul Area Synod in cooperation with congregations Caring for Creation form a local chapter of the Lutheran Earthkeeping Network of the Synods, identifying contact people within each of our conferences to serve as resources for congregations in their conference seeking to get involved; and be it further

RESOLVED that the staff of the Saint Paul Area Synod, through Congregations Caring for Creation, direct the Saint Paul Area Synod’s congregations to the resources available so that they might effectively plan new facilities and major building additions or renovations to include environmentally conscious and sustainable design; and maintain clean their facilities with renewable, recyclable and environmentally friendly products and materials; and bit finally

RESOLVED that the Saint Paul Area Synod engage in public policy advocacy to significantly reduce emissions that cause climate change in the following five sectors: homes (such as use of high-efficiency furnaces and compact fluorescent light bulbs); transportation (such as increasing automobile fuel efficiency standards); energy production (such as increasing the production of electricity from renewable sources like wind); and industrial (such as the use of waste heat for cogeneration).

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