Swords To Plowshares & Pipelines To Panels (4 of 4)

by | Feb 28, 2018 | Uncategorized

The time is coming soon when they will beat their swords
into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. Nation
will not lift up sword against nation. Neither will they
learn war anymore. For every family will sit under their
own vine and beneath their own fig tree with none to
terrify them.

-Micah 4:3-4

This is Part 4 in a series of articles on the Clean Energy Jobs Bill being considered in the Oregon State Legislature. Read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

Just a few years ago, I would never have thought of this vision of peace from the prophet Micah when discussing climate change. But, as I began to advocate for the Cap and Investment plan, now the Clean Energy Jobs Bill, it immediately came clear. What we see emerging before our very eyes, even amid movements and forces to the contrary are economies in transition for good and maybe the best chance humanity has ever had to get it right. Just as the prophet we see a time coming when the machinery of depletion and the degradation of all we hold dear in the earth will become the equipment of repair and regeneration. In a very tangible way, what we dream and that for which we work is the whole sale retooling of our way of living from one of exploitation to one of equity and rebirth…coal mines to wind farms, pipelines to panels.

And, at the same time, I don’t want to diminish the intimate connection of global heating and the violence and warfare all around us.   From the racism and pain of New Orleans with Katrina, to the genocide of Sudan and Syria, climate catastophe exacerbates hurricanes and droughts and figures deeply in violent conflicts around the sacred Earth. The Pentagon’s own study acknowledges that for the next century or so climate change is the #1 threat to international security. And so the Prophet’s prayer is our hope and our work in all these realms. As a Christian, I believe Micah’s vision is what Jesus calls the Kingdom of God and that new realm is what he compels us to lay our lives on the line that it might come soon and be established here and now.

As we do this faithful work together, what compels us to keep showing up is the most important component of our message to each other and those we hope to persuade. As we began this campaign together in McMinnville, I kept asking why this is so important to us. Click on the following links and listen to what our people say about why this matters.

Anyway blog enthusiasts, this is all I have to say about Cap and Investment and Clean Energy Jobs for now. We’re not sure exactly what’s happening in the legislature right this moment and the Bills are in their hands. Chances are it may not pass again in this legislature, partly because we seem to lack the courage among Senate leadership and now the Governor herself seems strangely silent, when she had been saying it was an absolute priority for 2018. Thankfully, for us, being faithful does not necessarily translate into being successful so we can keep on keeping on and not despair. Still, House Bill (HB) 4001 and Senate Bill (SB) 1507 are alive in their respective Rules Committees and I encourage any of you out there who are Oregonians or others who want to influence Oregonians to email or phone any or all of the members of the Committees.   Simply ask them to do everything they can to pass SB 1507 or HB 4001 and say why…make sure to give your name, address and zip code.

Senate Rules Committee—SB 1507:

House Rules Committee—-HB 4001:

Let’s keep giving it our best shot. I started working on this in 2015 and, during that time, it has never been a matter of “if” this passes or not. It’s always been a matter of “when” it passes. It is going to pass, because it’s the way the economy is moving and it coincides with the moral arc of the universe as it keeps bending toward justice. So, if it doesn’t make it in 2018, we’ll be back in 2019 and I hope you’ll be with us. In the meantime, keep working on your message. I leave you with mine.

Like What You're Reading?

Subscribe below to receive my Net Zero updates!

You have Successfully Subscribed!