Wednesday, August 31, 2011

What troubles you?

We all have worries. Facebook makes this clear. Some of us share our troubles more openly than others, but reading Facebook for a week shows that we all struggle with something. Maybe it is a family concern, losing a job, damage from a storm, or a sick pet; the list is endless. It is normal (and appropriate) to get caught up in these worries, and it is not unusual to be overwhelmed by them. We simply don't have the energy to focus on yet one more thing.

You all have great hearts. If I were to ask for help with a personal struggle, dozens of you would be right there offering to help. Yet if I were to ask you to think with me about a more global issue, most of you would scroll right on past. That is normal; I do it too. Today I am asking you to pause another minute or two and read what is on my mind and in my heart.

Many of you know that I support organizations that help feed the hungry and provide clean drinking water for those without. Because these issues have a personal face they appeal directly to my compassion. The topic I want to discuss with you today, however, often seems less personal. The topic is climate change and global warming. Climate change can appear impersonal because we make it into an economic or political issue; we talk about "carbon dioxide" and "green house gases" or about fuel efficiency and alternative forms of energy. How impersonal is that? But then one day I read about the thousands who will suffer as coastlands are flooded with the rising oceans. I see the destruction left in the path of killer tornadoes and once-in-a-century hurricanes. I watch the children starving from famine caused by the drought in Somalia. These tug at my compassion again.

If they tug at yours, you might still feel powerless. It is easy to be overwhelmed, both by the magnitude of the problem and by your own important concerns. Maybe your emotional energy is running on low right now. Fortunately, Facebook makes it easy to begin simply by raising awareness. You can do as little or as much as you are inclined to do.

  1. Click "Like" on the Facebook link to increase interest.
  2. Post a "comment" on that link to show your support.
  3. "Share" this link on your wall to spread the word.
  4. "Like" the following pages:
    Climate Reality |
    Stop Global Warming
  5. RSVP to 24 Hours of Reality event.
  6. Post a "link" to Climate Reality Project
  7. "Donate your Facebook" to 24 Hours of Reality

Now, I know that some of you are probably skeptical. You will claim we don't know for sure that the natural disasters I mentioned above are related to global warming. Some of you might even say we can't prove that global warming is due to human activity. All I am asking today is that you keep an open mind. In my studied opinion, the scientific evidence that climate change is real and that it is cause by human activity is undeniable. Are specific weather events the direct result of global warming? I grant that the evidence for this is not as incontrovertible, but it is quite solid nonetheless. For those who want to dig deeper, see: Science of Global Warming

Of course a few of you will remain unconvinced. You will claim this is nothing more than a big hoax, the result of political hype, or a grand conspiracy. Again I appeal to you to keep an open mind. These are the kind of accusations that were made against the science smoking and health while hundreds of thousands of Americans were losing their lives due to smoking. The tobacco industry set out to perpetrate a lie. Now everyone knows the truth about smoking.

Compassion means "to suffer or endure with." We all suffer troubles of one sort or another and these may overwhelm us. It is easy to become absorbed in our concerns. My purpose in this project is to raise awareness of ways we can take a step outside of our concerns and respond with compassion.


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