Not a Climate Evangelist

I've mentioned Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist and a Christian, a number of times in my blogs. Hayhoe is a Canadian working deep in the heart of Texas where the realities of climate change are a tough sell. She managed to convert her husband, an evangelical pastor on the subject and has become a relentlessly positive spokesperson for what is a hugely contentious subject in the United States. 

I marvel at her grace under constant criticism and when I heard her a couple of years ago in Kingston her message was clear and unambiguous without being hectoring or gloomy. Still, she points out: “People sometimes call me a climate evangelist, and I’m like, ‘No, this is not Good News.’ ”

Hayhoe is clever in knowing her audience, whether it is a church group, or a gathering of climate activists or a congressional hearing, Recently she reminded 1500 attendees at the Citizens’ Climate Lobby conference that  women should be grateful for the Industrial Revolution and for coal and oil because before this a woman’s work was an endless cycle of drudgery. In that address she said: I realized that I am truly and profoundly grateful for the benefits and the blessings that fossil fuels have brought us.” The reality is, though, that we must become a post-fossil fuel civilization, 



Hayhoe is the subject of a recent, lengthy Washington Post piece which explores her faith and her conviction that the climate crisis will be addressed by faith. It is remarkable that an article in a secular publication includes a number of references to scripture and defines Hayhoe as a prophet for our time, in the tradition of the prophets of old. 

I'll include the link here and encourage to take a few minutes to read it. Of course the biblical prophets often went unheeded and were even vilified for offering uncomfortable messages. Not only should we be grateful for this remarkable Christian, we can pray that God sustains her in this essential work.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/one-of-americas-top-climate-scientists-is-an-evangelical-christian-shes-on-a-mission-to-convert-skeptics/2019/07/12/9018094c-8d2a-11e9-adf3-f70f78c156e8_story.html?utm_term=.a5fcf4c0a7d2