RPC Eco-Letter: Breath, Air, Wind

Collected items on spirit and ecology.

by: Jesse Miller

May 23

I took this photo in Colorado (back in 2017) where it’s easy to see the sky and earth intermingle.

1. God Breathes Life into the Human

“Then the Lord God formed the Adam from the soil of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the Adam became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)

2. Breath as Receiving and Giving

“Christ Himself… ‘breathes’ in… me divinely in giving me His Spirit… The mystery of the Spirit is the mystery of selfless love. We receive Him in the ‘inspiration’ of secret love, and we give Him to others in the outgoing of our own charity. Our love in Christ is then a life both of receiving and of giving. We receive from God in the Spirit, and in the same Spirit we return our love to God through our brothers.”¹

—Thomas Merton quoted in Sallie McFague’s A New Climate for Christology: Kenosis, Climate Change, and Befriending Nature

3. Breath Connects Us to the World

“Every breath we inhale contains our planet’s nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor and trace elements. When we breathe with mindfulness, we can experience our interbeing with the Earth’s delicate atmosphere, with all the plants, and even with the sun, whose light makes possible the miracle of photosynthesis. With every breath we can experience communion.”

— From a statement on climate change by Thich Nhat Hanh

4. Climate Action Reduces Deaths from Air Pollution

“The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills 7 million people every year… Air pollution is the silent killer that doesn’t get enough headlines… While the number of deaths from air pollution is still horrifically high, the data does contain hope. We could be at the peak of the human tragedy that is air pollution… A rollout of clean technologies could see pollution deaths plunge in a matter of decades.”

—From “Deaths from air pollution are high, but the data contains hope” by Hannah Ritchie.

5. The Spirit (Breath, Wind) Empowers Us to Love Our Neighbors

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:1-2)

A few more things:

• Super El Niño: Climate change might combine with regular weather patterns to create extreme weather in the upcoming year.

• AMOC Weakening: “New research suggests the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation could weaken by half this century with wide ranging consequences for weather, food and sea levels across the world.”

• Iran and Energy: The war in Iran is accelerating the global adoption of renewables—they are cheap and the supply is not dependent on the decisions of impulsive authoritarian leaders. Watch Amy Goodman interview Bill McKibben for Democracy Now.

• California Grid: The cost of batteries has dropped dramatically and this means the grid can store up solar power for use in the evenings. Check out the graph in this article!

• Flooding in Chicago: Flooding is getting worse and it hurts some neighborhoods more than others. The solution is a mix of increased green spaces and infrastructure to divert and store water.

• The Pigeons’ Last Passage: Listen to this podcast episode on passenger pigeons. Don’t miss the Peggy Notebaert Director of Collections tearing up near the end.

• Making the Move From Trashing to Composting: Composting is now expected as the norm in Evanston. Learn how to do it if you don’t already know.

• Why You Should Kill Your Lawn: Listen to this from NPR’s Life Kit and learn how to plant a low-maintenance native plant garden.

• Growing the Grassroots of Climate Action in Evanston: Steve Perkins tells the story of how interfaith organizing made Evanston a leading city for climate action.

1

Merton says “brothers,” but we can add “sisters.” He was probably talking in the context of his Trappist monastery.