God's will is for life, not for extinction

Originally appeared on spirituality.com

“I’m riding my bicycle to work,” a woman said on a call-in radio program in response to a question about what people can do to slow down global warming. She knew that emissions from gasoline-powered automobiles are considered primary contributors to global warming, and so she was leaving her car in the garage most of the time.

Human actions and their impact on the environment are detailed in the recently released report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. While many aspects of the report deserve our prayers and prayer-inspired actions, one that stood out to me was that a rise of only a little over 3 degrees of earth’s temperature can result in the possible extinction of almost 30 percent of species within the next hundred years.

That may sound rather abstract, but even if we think only in terms of the creatures that are important to humanity’s well being, it’s sobering. Bees and butterflies pollinate fruit, birds devour insect pests, wild plants and animals are sources of food for people in developed and developing cultures. As I read it, I knew I needed to pray deeply about this report.

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