I don’t pretend to fully understand the term “Evangelical,” and I doubt I fit whatever definition you may have of it. However, if it’s a euphemism for “Christian,” then apparently I’m on to something- I might be holding the keys to this whole environmental debacle called “climate change.” You might be a “key holder” too and if you are, then let us not waste this opportunity.
Here’s an opinion piece I wrote for the Pacific Coast Business Times:
Prop 23, commonly referred to as the “Dirty Energy Bill” by opponents, is bad for California and bad for business. California is known as the national leader for environmental quality and health standards, as well as innovative energy solutions. However, if passed, the impact of Prop 23 would result in disincentives for innovation in order to maintain a costly status quo. The November ballot initiative would suspend AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, until the unemployment rate drops to 5.5% for 4 consecutive quarters. What the supporters of Prop 23 aren’t telling voters is that the unemployment rate has only done that three times since 1984. We all know that times are tough, but this is not the solution. We’ve already invested too much into our future to continue to stay in the past.
AB 32 was created through exhaustive and informed committee work by the state legislature through more than a year of hearings, and eventually signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2006. The law requires that greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels by 2020. The bill is progressive when compared to the rest of the United States, but it’s still behind the curve of the rest of the industrial world. The bill establishes a timetable to bring California into near compliance with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol (UN protocol aimed at stabilizing global greenhouse gas emissions), which was signed by nearly all-first world (NOT including the U.S.), and even third-world, countries. AB 32 requires cleaner fuels, more efficient technology, a pay-to-pollute cap and trade system, as well as provisions that decrease greenhouse gas emissions, conserve fossil fuel, and foster green business. To think that the hard work behind AB 32 could be unraveled through the state of California initiative process is unfathomable.
The rationale for suspending implementation of AB 32 by Prop 23 supporters is that the state’s economy is too fragile to sustain the cost associated with compliance and that this would sacrifice jobs in an already depressed job market. However, not many organizations or businesses agree. In actuality, many business groups, large firms and trade associations are opposing Prop 23. Notably, these even include refiners such a Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and BP- possibly because they’ve already invested in cleaner fuel technology, and/or because they have transnational markets and expect to encounter similar regulations from the European Union. Also among those in opposition are environmental groups, health advocacy groups (e.g. the American Lung Association), local Chambers of Commerce throughout the state, a network of big names in innovative businesses ”from Apple to Yahoo,” the League of Women Voters, TechNet, AARP, and a multitude of green industry associations. Governor Schwarzenegger strongly opposes Prop 23, and with unusual unanimity, both gubernatorial candidates – Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman – do as well (The governor of California has the power to suspend provisions of AB 32 if he or she deems necessary).
Who then is for the measure? Prop 23 is largely funded (5.5 million) by three refineries – Valero Energy Corp, Tesoro Corp. and Koch Industries. These out-of-state corporations hope to avoid the expensive conversion required to meet California standards. Their real concern is their own bottom line not California jobs. In a misuse of our state’s initiative process, these outside interests aim to tie the hands of the legislature, governor, and Californians by nullifying the complex, lengthy process already undertaken to create AB 32.
Some might say that retooling to meet new requirements will not be cheap and some businesses may choose to migrate from California to a state with less healthful, and thus more harmful, standards. However the reality is that many large firms have already begun the investment. Waste Management, the trash giant, for example, planned a new methane gas collection system and began switching to alternative-fuel garbage trucks, costing about $85,000 per truck. It is unfair and unethical to penalize early adopters and then in turn create a financial advantage to the skeptics and those companies that dragged their feet.
With AB32, California is positioned to be a leader in an emerging global market for green technology. Already 500,000 green jobs exist here, and between 2005 and 2009, the field attracted $9 billion in venture capitalist funding – approximately 60% of the entire North American investment in green technologies. Green industry, supported by both private and public investment and underpinned by a technologically savvy workforce, has a powerful trajectory for future growth in high-wage high-value jobs. Its provisions should take effect as scheduled, modified only by the subsequent action of the governor or legislature as needed.
Prop 23 is an unnecessary and growth deterring measure. Only out-of-state special interests would be served by its passage, and California (And arguably the United States) would lag behind global competition in emerging clean-tech/green industries. The next global industrial revolution will be green and the State’s budding green economy is well positioned to benefit from the coming boom as long as Prop 23 is rejected.
I had the honor of spending last Thursday night listening to a hero of mine. Annie Leonard was speaking on the current materials economy and its inability to support the needs of future generations. Why? Because it’s unsustainable.
We’ve become professional consumers and our children and grandchildren are going to pay for it. Resources are being gobbled up faster than the natural rate of replacement. How is that fair? How is that just? Although, I don’t have all the answers, I do know this:
Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…”
If we’re not thinking about the next generation(s), then what kind of men/women are we?
A friend recently shared a film with me called “The Dark Side of the Lens.” It’s 6 minutes of pure inspiration and beauty (See the film below). It reminded me how life isn’t meant to simply be observed, but experienced. Experience is what transforms a person’s paradigm and brings a paramount level of understanding.
Seeing the ocean from a distance is both enlightening and captivating, but you don’t really know much about her until you get little closer. It’s not until you immerse yourself in her cold embrace, taste her salt on your lips, and feel the power of her swell that you really understand who she is.
“Open your eyes and hearts to the world. Make up your own mind from experience and be inspired.” – Micky Smith
The world is connected by design. Every system that God created, whether an ecosystem or a biological system, He did so with connectivity and interdependence in mind. Consider the Oxygen Cycle for instance – We exhale carbon dioxide that enables plants to photosynthesize, and through photosynthesis plants produce the oxygen that we then inhale. Then there’s the Life Cycle, or if you ever watched Lion King (And you know you did) the “circle of life.” The Life Cycle is simple but incredible – Something must die in order for something to live. You can’t have life without death (Yes, there are spiritual implications in that sentence). Creation works in cycles that are contingent on relationship. It’s only befitting that a God who designed creation for relationship with Him would require it to be in relationship with itself.
This is a great story. People finding a new way to pursue their passion and enjoy the great outdoors.
Beauty is all around us. It’s in everything. The question is not whether it exists in a person/place or not, but rather “am I looking deep enough?” Sometimes even “obvious” beauty beckons us to look deeper.
By now, you’ve probably already seen the viral video known as “Double Rainbow” (You know. The YouTube video where some hippy dude almost spontaneously combusts when he sees a rainbow in the Yosemite Valley). It’s hilarious, but also quite touching. The viewer gets an intimate glimpse of a man becoming overwhelmed by the majesty of beauty. He actually becomes so overwhelmed that he can’t help but cry out, “What’s this mean?!” (Check it out below)
Beauty beckoned him closer and required the question – “What’s this mean?” That’s because when we come in contact with true beauty, we engage with our creator- who is beauty. When we see a rainbow that captivates the soul, or even a person for that matter, we catch a glimpse of our heavenly father.
David understood the source and pure allure of beauty. He once said, ” This I will seek: to remain in the Lord’s house all the days of my life in order to gaze at the Lord’s beauty and to search for an answer in his temple.” The next time you see something beautiful appreciate it and know that there’s even more where that came from.
Every summer in Southern California a phenomenon known as “June Gloom” occurs. June Gloom is a weather pattern that causes overcast skies during the early summer months. It lasts for days, or even weeks, depending on the year, and this year it decided to get an early start and stay a while.
I can manage gray skies when it’s winter, but it’s reprehensible during summer (Even if it does happen every year ). My brain says, “Summer = sun + heat,” while Mother Nature messes with my psyche seemingly indifferent to my logic. She was relentless this year.
Once July came and it was still gloomy outside, I had to make a decision. I had to reconcile my expectations. My “summer should be sunny” and my “June Gloom lasts no longer than June” expectation needed to shift. I was going to have to be patient and wait a little while longer for the sun to shine… which got me thinking… How often do we find ourselves waiting for the sun to shine?
As I waited, I realized that this was more than just waiting for the weather to get better. It was about allowing circumstance to determine my life instead of my character determining my circumstance. I was allowing the June Gloom to deter me from enjoying myself. My desire was to go outside and play, but I wasn’t allowing myself to do that until the weather got better, or until the conditions and circumstance met my expectations. I could have just as easily decided that summer starts when I want it to instead of waiting for the sun… but I didn’t.
This happens a lot. Not just with the weather, but in all aspects of life. It happens when we think we can’t live the way we desire until something changes or until conditions are perfect – “I know I’m a better employee than I’ve been, but I’ll do better at work when I am paid more,” or “I want to give more but I’ll do it once I’m wealthy.” I’m not saying that you shouldn’t desire more compensation or wealth. What I am saying is that those things should never deter you from being who you want or think you should be. Expectations are going to go unmet and circumstance aren’t always going to be favorable, but it’s what you do in those situations that matters most to those around you, as well as to yourself.
We are called people of light for a reason(1Thess. 5). Light doesn’t change whether it’s bright or dark out. It actually stands out more during poor circumstance. We can always find reasons to remain the same, but those with strong character realize that being who you know you should be starts now and not when conditions are perfect.
So what if it’s cloudy out? People need the sun… and maybe that’s you.
“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
I can’t hear anymore news about the BP oil catastrophe. It’s like listening to a broken record that continues to grow louder and louder with each passing minute. Until finally, it shoots off the record player and decapitates a Bald Eagle. I actually think that’s a pretty accurate analogy. However, even if you think that doesn’t make sense … trust me, it makes more sense then the response, or lack thereof, to this oil spill.
The lack of response isn’t something that needs to be discussed. It’s obvious that something needs to be done, and it’s also obvious that no one knows what that “something” actually is. There have been ideas to lower a dome and capture the oil, drill more oil wells in order to relieve the flow, and even seek the advice and counsel of Kevin Costner. I don’t know about you, but I’m not feeling very confident in these approaches. We need to keep seeking.
So what is the solution? I have no idea. Maybe it is talking to celebrities or using human hair. The problem is big enough that it warrants ideas both far and wide. My hope is that “the” solution presents itself sooner rather than later because the gloomy newscasts and the online parodies are getting old… although this one parody did make me laugh (I actually think prayer is part of the solution).
One thing is certain in all this – Man is good at making messes. My fear is that this one is too big for us to clean-up.
I stumbled across this video today. Shel Silverstein’s children’s book, “The Giving Tree,” is one of my favorite stories of all time. It’s a story about love, and the selfless acts that follow someone, or something, who is motivated by it.
Love is not a self-seeking hoarder, but an extravagant altruist who never ceases to give. Here is the story of that love in one of it’s most basic forms:
