Clerk's message

Our peace testimony must address the causes of war,
including environmental destruction

by Barbara Williamson, QEW Steering Committee Clerk

For as long as most of us reading this issue of BeFriending Creation have been alive, United States foreign policy has been based, in part, on our need for fossil fuels. Administrations have made decisions on whether or not to engage in armed conflict based on our need for a reliable flow of oil. Even during World War II, German decisions on taking the war to Russia were based on a need for oil.

Even though it is clear that the United States' dependence on fossil fuels is contributing to global climate change and that oil is not a renewable resource, we continue to act as if we have a sovereign right to the world's oil resources. We have yet to find the political will to develop a national policy for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and creating alternative renewable sources of energy. As a nation, we continue to be willing to engage in armed conflict to maintain the status quo.

As we have seen under the current administration, Americans are still willing to support our government's decision to go to war if a "good enough" reason is put forward. As Quakers we should be working to help all Americans understand that our oil-based foreign policy is leading us down a dead-end one-way street. Americans need to demand a change in our national energy policy to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Only then will we be able to change our foreign policy so that we no longer need to protect our access to fossil fuels with whatever force is necessary.

In addition, we need to take seriously the possibility of worldwide upheaval, which could take place if climate change and population growth continue and we do not replace our dependence on fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. Providing the basics of human survival for the people of the world is a complex process that currently does not work for many people in the world. Without means to transport food over long distances, we are looking at major social, economic and political upheavals that could lead to widespread armed conflict.

Thinking back to the news videos from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, I remember the faces of the people trapped at the Super Dome coliseum without food, water, and other basic human needs. The anger and fear of the people could be felt coming through the television screen. What will it be like when lack of food strikes large regions of the world, particularly in those countries where food has always been plentiful for those with financial resources?

As Quakers we have a responsibility to be a voice for peace. But can we truly be that voice if do not work to end the causes of war? Our work as Quakers in caring for Creation is an important part of the Quaker Peace Testimony. We need to speak up for renewable sources of energy, reducing the effects of climate change, and other environmental initiatives.

Over the last six issues of BeFriending Creation I have been writing about the Quaker Testimonies of Simplicity, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Peace and their relationship to a concern for the environment. These articles have been my personal reflections on these testimonies. While I see a relationship to a concern for the environment in all of these testimonies, I believe that Quakers need a Testimony for the Environment.

At its 2006 Annual Meeting, the QEW Steering Committee endorsed the "International Day of Climate Action" that the Climate Crisis Coalition set for November 4, 2006 to call world attention to the upcoming UN Climate Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Climate action events will focus on the 2006 U.S. elections, reminding voters of the Bush administration's obstructionist climate policies.

• This civil society inititive calls for the U.S. to join the other 175 countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol and to dramatically strengthen energy conservation and fuel efficiency standards.
• It calls for end to all subsidies for oil and coal and for those funds to be redirected to clean and safe non-nuclear energy alternatives. It also calls for all subsidies for fossil-fuel based industrial agriculture and for those funds to be used to support local and regional food and farming systems.
• It supports a just transition for workers, indigenous peoples, and other communities affected by the necessary changes. See <www.climatecrisiscoalition.org>.

An Inconvenient Truth

The new film of Al Gore's presentation on global climate change, "An Inconvenient Truth," is helping to inform the public about this urgent issue, and to stimulate conversations. Eco-Justice Ministries has prepared a free discussion guide to help church groups talk about the film. Go to <www.eco-justice.org/TruthGuide.asp>.

A DVD of Gore's film was released in the fall of 2006, and the Regeneration Project, working with state Interfaith Power & Light groups, is including free copies in the "Spotlight on Global Warming" kits they are distributing to thousands of religious groups. For more information or to sign up, go to: <www.theregenerationproject.org/inconvenient.htm> or call 415/561-4891