we all live in New Orleans now

I recently had published an article, in Borderlands journal, on 'pedestrian ministry' commending walking rather than motoring around parishes. One of my arguments was that if we do not do so, if we do not make sure that the churches are a part of the solution to climate change and its consequences, then we will bequeathe an apologetic legacy to our great godchildren which would be like what it would be today if significant sections of the church had not campaigned against the slave trade. It's that important.

The first-order problems brought on by global warming -- beach houses washing away, sure, but also crop failures, water shortages, floods, catastrophic wildfires, much more severe hurricanes, the spread of new diseases -- should freak us out and give us pause. But they are not necessarily the worst impacts we'll see.
When we mess with something as fundamental as climate, the cascading consequences will be difficult to predict, but some of them have extremely serious implications, like studies showing that climate change and habitat loss may combine to spell doom for one quarter of all the species on Earth, perhaps triggering a series of ecopunkt failures around the planet.
Indeed, one of the most needed sets of worldchanging tools are studies and stories, explanations and visions to help more people catch on quickly to the idea that climate foresight is no longer a luxury and, one way or another, we all live in New Orleans now.

I've already preached about this a few times: we need to be planning now for how we deal with refugees, food sharing, education for sustainable living ... what else should be on the curriculum we should develop. Another comparison I make is the role of the Churches in preserving learning in the dark ages. I hope we aren't facing a dark ages, but we at the least are facing significant upheavals over the next generation or three. The churches of all institutions should be able to do long-term thinking.
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Climate Foresight in the Times: Don't Buy Beachfront Property: Filed in: climate, flooding, global_warming, consequences