Presence: Experiencing the Nearness of God

India, home of more than 1.4 billion people, wants to increase its overall prosperity. Presently, its citizens consume, per person, one tenth of what is consumed by Americans. If India were to take an intense fossil-fuel burning, CO2 producing path to prosperity, the effect on the planet would be catastrophic. So leapfrogging to a higher, more sustainable level of technology is a sane and sustainable way forward for India.

It is astounding how much energy Americans use - especially compared to people elsewhere. The per capita consumption of each person in the U.S. is roughly 11,000 watts every moment of every day. And yet, we today have technology - like the 24 solar panels on my roof that can begin to change the carbon emissions which come from the burning of fuel to make those 11K of power I and every other American consume each day.

Today it's about the same, important word repeated three times. We are reminded that with the shift to a renewable energy focused economy, there are new jobs which will grow from the need for labor to build the new infrastructure. And, as followers of Christ, we are also called to build a just, inclusive world in which all of the creatures within Christ's creation are respected. Any so-called "Christian" who wants to build an authoritarian nation founded on demonizing or scapegoating others, restricting freedom or racial supremacy is sorely misguided and not a follower of the goodnews - the gospel - of Christ.

We begin with the ending quote from the text for letter "I" - "The I.R.A. was called 'historic,' 'transformational,' and 'the best news anyone who cares about the fate of the planet had heard in a long time'" In contrast, just today, Politico reported that an influential oil & gas industry lobbist group 'has drafted detailed plans for dismantling landmark Biden administration climate rules after the presidential election." So much hangs in this election - continued progress with addressing climate change or regression that will continue to dangerously move us backwards.

Just three letters ago we had "D is for Dispair." Now it's "H is for Hope." Which of these two seemingly opposite postures/attitudes is it? Recall the bluntness of "Despair is a sin." Along with faith and love, hope is a core virtue of the Christian tradition. And there's evidence - if we are awake to it, that there's reason to be hopeful that change - with the climate and, well hopefully, with our politics too can come.