The People's Climate March: Why You Can't Please All the People, All the Time

The article is also part of a TheEnergyCollective.com series on climate change and conservatives. See also "Did the "People's Climate" March Leave Conservatives on the Sidelines?" by Sieren Ernst, "Should the Climate Movement Turn Down the Radicalism?" by Neil Stenhouse, and People's Climate March and Conservatives: Should Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben Engage the Political Right? by Johannes Urpelainen.

I was sitting in church last Sunday. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around: it was an older lady I didn’t know very well, but her face was familiar. “I’m reading your book,” she whispered, “and I just wanted you to know it’s changed my mind about all this climate stuff.”

“Why?” I asked, curious.

“You just make so much more sense,” she replied.

This September, we witnessed an unprecedented record being set. It wasn’t a new scientific study connecting the dots between extreme weather events and human-induced warming. It wasn’t a new record for carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere â€" we already hit the 400 parts per million mark last year. It wasn’t even the National Association of Evangelicals announcing that creation care was important: that happened 10 years ago.

It was the People’s Climate March: the largest-ever gathering of people demanding action on climate change here in the United States and around the world.

My church lady had never heard of the People’s Climate March. If she’s like most of the other people around here, most of her news on climate change is of the “godless liberal hoax” variety. Why did she pick up my book? Because it was sitting at the back of the church and she trusted it. She trusted it because she knows that I am a Christian and I care about many of the same things she does.

I think we’d all agree that we wish the People’s March had not only reaffirmed to the left that climate change should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but also convinced people on the right that climate change is a Big Deal. But you know what? There is no real one size fits all.

Here’s the way I think about it. Global Warming’s Six Americas tells us that about 45% of people are Alarmed or Concerned about climate change. These people are thinking: “I’m worried about climate change and I’m trying to do my part, but what about everybody else? Am I the only one?” The March answered that question, loud and clear: NO, you are not the only one. There are hundreds of thousands of alarmed and concerned people just like you all around the world, and they are willing to march!

The Six Americas tells us that 34% of people are Cautious or Disengaged when it comes to climate change. They may be thinking, “Why does this matter? Does anyone care?” Maybe they saw something in the news, orâ€"given the paucity of mainstream news coverageâ€"heard about it on Facebook. For them, the March also answered their questions, loud and clear: YES, many people are worried about it because it affects our health, our kids, our economy, and the places where we all live.

Now we get to the final two categories: Doubtful and Dismissive. People in these groups either strongly doubt that climate change is a real issue, or are entirely convinced that it is not. For this group, the March is like a Christmas Eve service for Jewsâ€"or a Hanukah service for Christians. We can be as sensitive as possible in pursuit of the holy grail of inclusiveness, but the bottom line is, it’s irrelevant to what each other believe. The only legitimate thing we can do is respect our differences and not act like putting a menorah next to the Christmas tree, or a tree beside the menorah, will miraculously cause anyone to change their minds.

If anyone who is doubtful or dismissive with a backbone is to be convinced that this is a real issue, simply telling them that a lot of people disagree with them is not going to make them change their minds. That conversation has to start and end with our values, which is why making our faith a part of the conversation is so essential. That’s what convinced the church lady: and what just might convince them, too.

Photo Credit: Climate Change, Engagement, and Faith/shutterstock