Welcome news: two British bishops are calling for a “carbon fast” to trim climate-warming emissions during the Lenten season. The idea of the “fast” is to take one energy-saving step every day during the 40 days of Lent: insulate the hot water tank, for example, or check for leaks in windows and doors. By Easter, you’ll have trimmed your emissions, and also accumulated lots of good karma.
This is yet another example of religious leaders of all stripes stepping into the climate fray. Why is this a religious issue? Says of the bishops:
“It is the poor who are already suffering the effects of climate change.”
That’s absolutelycorrect, and ratchets up the moral imperative of halting climate change. The fight against global warming isn’t just about protecting animals or nature in the abstract. It’s about helping people, particularly some of the poorest people in the world, in very specific and concrete ways. Which is just the sort of thing we expect our religious leaders to support.
(Thanks to the ever-glamorous Stacey Panek for the tip.)
