Faith in a Changing Climate

This book provides guidance to the faith community as they address climate change and other ‘Age of Limits’ issues. A preview of Chapter 1 is available at the following links.

Chapter 1 — A Lonely Journey
Isaiah (8th century BCE)
A Chemical Engineer’s Journey
Steps in the Journey
   The Machine Stops
   Entropy Into the Greenhouse World
   Twilight in the Desert
   The Hubbert Peal
   Sustainable Growth - An Oxymoron
   Predicaments, Not Problems
   City of God
   Light Bulbs
   The Ladder of Awareness
   No Net Zero
A Need for a New Theology
   A Humble Comparison
   Through a Glass Darkly
Organization of This Book

Chapter 2 — Exile from Eden
John Shelby Spong (1931-2021)
The Parable of the Home-Made Wine
An Age of Limits
A Word of Caution
Exile
Our Climate Change Exile
Leaving the Church of Progress
OK Boomer
The Church of Perpetual Material Progress
Material Loss
Four Groups
Governments
Business and Commerce
Individuals and Community
Faith Community
Greenwashing
The Ladder of Awareness
The Missing Happy Chapter
The End of Exile

Chapter 2 — Buried Sunlight
M. King Hubbert (1903-1989)
The 300-Year Party
Deforestation
The Industrial Revolution
Thomas Newcomen
The Tragedy of the Commons

Chapter 3 — Exile
John Shelby Spong (1931-2021)
The Parable of the Home-Made Wine
An Age of Limits
A Word of Caution
Exile
Our Climate Change Exile
Leaving the Church of Progress
OK Boomer
The Church of Perpetual Material Progress
Material Loss
Four Groups
Governments
Business and Commerce
Individuals and Community
Faith Community
Greenwashing
The Ladder of Awareness
The Missing Happy Chapter
The End of Exile

Chapter 4 — The City of Man
Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
The Parable of the Inheritance
An Age of Limits
A Word of Caution
Exile
Our Climate Change Exile
Leaving the Church of Progress
OK Boomer
The Church of Perpetual Material Progress
Material Loss
Four Groups
Governments
Business and Commerce
Individuals and Community
Faith Community
Greenwashing
The Ladder of Awareness
The Missing Happy Chapter
The End of Exile

Chapter 5 — Green Technology to the Rescue
Al Gore (1948- )
U.N. Reports
Conference of the Parties (COP)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The 1.5°C Report
Jevons Paradox
The Second Law
Resilience
Eco-Technology
Oil
Energy Dense
Dispatchable
Low Cost
Portable
Cheap
Safe
Petrochemicals
Alternative Energy Sources
Challenges
Anaesthetics from Windmills
Intermittent Energy
Going First Subsidy
Progress to Date
A Windy and Sunny Future
Solar Power
Wind Power
Biomass
Nuclear Power (Fission)
Unrealized Hopes
Safety
Futuristic Energy Sources
Nuclear Power (Fusion)
Small Modular Reactors
Thorium Reactors
Energy Storage
Carbon Capture and Storage
CO2 Removal
Abiotic CO2 Removal
Geoengineering
Project Management
Time Available
Speed of Implementation
Scale of Implementation
Project Resources
Oil Companies
Energy Returned on Energy Invested
Climate Chaos
Process — Not an Event
Benedict of Nursia (480-548)
The Parable of the Man’s Body
Trust in Experts
Social Media
Experts and Generalists
Climate Scientists
Alarmists
Human Response
Framing Predictions
Mixed Messages

Chapter 6 — Toward a New Theology
Jorge Bergoglio (1936- )

Chapter 7 — The Church of the Future
The Parable of the Blind Golfers
Where is God in All This?
Semper Reformanda
The Good Old Days
Social Justice
From the Pulpit
The Net Zero Church
Scope 1
Scope 2
Scope 3
The Church’s Opportunity
Mission Statements
Personal Lifestyle Community
The Parish
A Three-Point Sermon
Theology for Our Times

Chapter 8 — The Conversation
East Coker
The Archdruid
Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush
The Emergent Church
Inconvenient Apocalypse
Why Christianity Must Change or Die
Deep Adaptation
Pilgrim’s Progress

Chapter 9 — Technology   
The Hubbert Curve
Jevons’ Paradox    
Energy Returned on Energy Invested