climate change, even human rights, not "moral issues"

The following is from a 3/3/07 NY Times article:

"Leaders of several conservative Christian groups have sent a letter urging the National Association of Evangelicals to force its policy director in Washington to stop speaking out on global warming.

"The conservative leaders say they are not convinced that global warming is human-induced or that human intervention can prevent it. And they accuse the director, the Rev. Richard Cizik, the association’s vice president for government affairs, of diverting the evangelical movement from what they deem more important issues, like abortion and homosexuality.
The letter underlines a struggle between established conservative Christian leaders, whose priority has long been sexual morality, and challengers who are pushing to expand the evangelical movement’s agenda to include issues like climate change and human rights...

"In interviews, some signers of this latest letter said they were wary of the global warming issue because they associated it with leftists, limits on free enterprise and population control, which they oppose.

"'We’re saying what is being done here,' Mr. Perkins said, 'is a concerted effort to shift the focus of evangelical Christians to these issues that draw warm and fuzzies from liberal crusaders.'"

It's ironic that a concern like global warming that not only threatens to displace thousands and thousands of people permanently from coastal homes and increase the incidence of severe meterological activity but also could devastate our economy, lifestyle, and local ecology is not of concern to many prominent Christian leaders. In the larger scope of human affairs, you'd think that sexual morality would rank a bit lower than climate change, which is not only sensitive to immediate action but also a great deal more all-encompassing for most forms of life on Earth. Possibly as ridiculous is the alluded resistance to include human rights issues on the horizon of these conservative Christian leaders. If human rights isn't considered as worthy a cause as sexual morality, it seems that we've really let down the roots of Christian religion. I doubt anyone can imagine the reasoning behind the "it's better to oppress others than to fight for their basic freedoms" struggle depicted in this article... Somehow, associating these pivotal issues with leftists and things that draw "warm and fuzzies from liberal crusaders" as counterweight just doesn't cut it.

winter in the city

is something completely different than winter spent tucked away in Northfield or Chanhassen. There's a deeper need to keep going here, a sort of harshness that comes from not having the luxury to travel on plowed streets and sidewalks, take time off from work, or simply pull your SUV out of the garage. It's more beautiful how the grittiness here fades and gets tucked away by the whiteness. The kittens are always entertaining. They sit at the window watching entranced for hours as snowflakes blow past.

I really like the job I have at Ramsey County Environmental Health setting up the food recycling programs in the elementary schools. I sit and talk with the kids while they eat and they tell me stories of life in the U.S., Somalia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ethiopia, or refugee camps in SE Asia. We talk about their pets, what they like about school and their families, what they hope to do with their lives. If I end up becoming a teacher, I want to teach in the city and pour as much love and kindness into the school as I can.

When I'm not in the schools, I work at a desk in an office in Maplewood. I generally like the people I work with but as a recent environmental studies grad, I don't necessarily find a lot to do that coincides with what I'm interested in. There are a lot of wonderful projects going on, like an environmental health handbook in Spanish for families that have no access to this information. It's ridiculously funny that I'm in charge of setting up focus groups, professional reviewers, and distribution for the book. I didn't have a clue about county govt, its projects, or how to go about contacting Latino nonprofits but it's been a good experience overall.

So, right now the main pleasures in life (other than telling kids where to put their food scraps) are cooking with Jimmy, playing with the kitties, knitting, coaxing our window herb garden into existence, reading books and short stories, playing with the Mpls South Community Band on my very own bass clarinet, looking at houses in Mpls and St. Paul, and relearning to play the piano. Actually, not too shabby. It's still hard to accept that so many of the people from college and before are far away either in distance or time. Grant, Cathy, Elizabeth, Justin, Amanda, Jennifer, Stacey, Cate, Guro, Bridget, Megan, Anna, Jacob: I really miss you! I hope everyone out there is finding their various present occupations satisfying.

Lots of love from Lauren, Jimmy, Mitch, and Ruby