Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash
Course: Climate Change
Faculty Mentor: Christine Muller
In the short time since I began this class, I have realized that having conversations about climate change is a terrific way to teach the Faith. I especially appreciated the letter from the Universal House of Justice which talked about HOW to teach about climate change. I find myself talking about climate change to almost everyone I meet because I feel I now have a stronger knowledge base and can make sensible, informed statements. A specific example: I didn’t realize the impact eating meat causes on the climate, from the deforestation needed to provide grazing land and to grow feed for the animals, to the amount of methane they release. I now see why The Master said we will be eating a grain-based diet in the future!
Not only have I learned a lot more about the issues I was familiar with, but I also learned about many other aspects of climate change that I was not even aware of and I will be better able to make more informed decisions while still being able to see both sides (or more) of an issue. I have learned much new information which will enable me to speak about climate change with more skill than I had before I took this class—especially when talking to climate change deniers.
I. The reinforcement I received for my idea of preparing a slide show about climate change to show at firesides is moving forward.
2. I had thought that the ‘catastrophe which will cause the limbs of mankind to quake’ would be an economic collapse as happened in 1929—only much, much worse. Now I understand that this is only part of the picture and I think that the real catalyst for the collapse will be climate change, and the collapse of the economy is just part of that.
3. I have had an intensification and broadening of my beliefs and understandings, and I have a greater understanding of how everything is intertwined: the world’s resistance to the Message of Baha’u’llah, climate change, the economy, politics, poverty, etc. I am really grateful for this fuller understanding of the world around us.
4. I have also started a project that has come out of this class! With the approval of our Assembly, a member of the community and I are going to collaborate on a display for our Bahá’í booth at the city’s biggest annual fair in September. The theme will show how the climate crisis is a spiritual problem and how the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh have the solutions we need. Thousands of people come to this fair every year and it will be such a joy to share what we have learned and to teach the Faith at the same time!
