Even if not historically realizable in the short-term, people of spirit and action need to proudly claim the vision that guides the steps of our climate justice work: a fossil-free society and economy. The goal inspiring us is not less use - the goal is the end of their use. This "unreasonable demand" becomes a guiding light, compelling us most deeply when we listen to those whose communities are under threat.
Many indigenous peoples, both Christian-based and otherwise, experience fossil-fuel induced climate change as political violence against their communities. They demand the right to be free from ongoing cultural genocide. They call us to account. For instance, the Indigenous Environmental Network identifies four principles that are critical for environmental justice and require "industrialized society [to] redefine its relationship with the sacredness of Mother Earth."
1. Leave Fossil Fuels in the Ground
2. Demand Real and Effective Solutions
3. Industrialized - Developed Countries take Responsibility
4. Living in a Good Way on Mother Earth
Beyond the human, the plants and animals that humans are tasked to care for in Genesis 1 have the right to not go extinct on account of our profit-driven ways. Our planet needs us to have a cultural conversion, to repent of our climate debt, and join as witnesses against carbon colonialism. While our dominant way of life imperils planetary life, it also rears its head in our own backyard.
Before we can end fossil fuels, we have to stop their spread. In southern California, their expansion comes in the form of fracking and unconventional oil extraction. Different cities, including Los Angeles, are working on passing moratoriums on these methods. When the time comes, we will encourage you to actively support these efforts, too. In the meantime, you'll find two petitions below, one for religious leaders to sign, and one for general supporters, both urging Gov. Brown to put a stop to fracking in (and fracking up) California.
All great transformations seem impossible until at some point they become all-but-inevitable. Though likely years in the making, followers of an alternative way beyond fossil-fuels can live and learn in solidarity with, and as, oppressed people and the planet. We will see an end to fossil-fuels, not through the strength of our own hands alone, but through the divine power working through all of us together as we walk each step out of love for our sacred world.
Burning with a holy (and non-carbon emitting!) fire,
Timothy Murphy
Executive Director