Who takes the temperature of the planet? If you’ve never visited the web site of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, sorted out their working groups or read their summary reports, there’s no time like the present.

A web site
On October 24, 2009, author Bill McKibben and the nonprofit, 350.org sponsored an international day of climate change action, inviting people from all over the world to create an action around the number 350—the safe threshold of ppm CO2 required for a healthy planet. Visit 350.org to view thousands of pictures from 182 countries.

A book by Andrew Farley and Katherine Hayhoe.

This book is written by a husband-wife team from Lubbock, Texas. She’s a scientist; he’s an Evangelical pastor. They were inspired to write about climate change together after fielding questions from friends who wanted to hear from fellow Christians.

“Love God, love your neighbors and remember the poor,” Farley says. “This was the unwavering mandate of the early church more than 2,000 years ago. And this is our solidly biblical motivation for caring about climate change today and how it already affects real people.”

“It’s not about blue or red or any kind of politics. It’s about thermometer readings and history. It’s about facts, figures and reality,” Hayhoe says.

Ilovemountains.org is a site about the consequences of coal mining and mountaintop removal. One nifty feature on this site is a place where you can type in your zip code and see if coal powers your electricity. If it does (likely) you can find out what mines that coal comes from and what communities are impacted.

Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies

Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies has campuses in Michigan, Washington, Southern Florida and India. It offers university-level academic programs, community programs for K-12 as well as retreat facilities. The library offers a handful of on-line texts including “Biblical Principles for Respecting the Integrity of Creation” and “Three Biblical Principles for Environmental Stewardship” by Calvin Dewitt. Resources such as Let Them Praise: Developing an Environmental Education Program that Honors the Creator by Patricia Fagg may be ordered. Their site reaches outward by offering links to other Creation Care websites.

http://www.ausable.org/or.resources.cfm

Congregations Caring for Creation was founded in 2004 and is based in Minnesota. The goal of this organization is to educate congregations on the effects of global warming and to change public policy. This website offers earth prayers, examples for “Earth Day” worship services, suggestions for “greening” buildings and educational pieces in the form of movies, DVD’s, seminars and interviews with people such as Cal Dewitt and Majora Carter. Under “Faith Traditions,” they offer what they consider to be the best resources on stewardship that each congregation has to offer including Baptist, Jewish, Quaker, Catholic and Unitarian traditions. Congregations Care for Creation also suggests actions from energy audits to legislative exploits under “Creation Care Actions.”

http://www.ccc.nonprofitoffice.com/index.asp?

The Church celebrates seasons of Christmas and Easter, so why not creation? Seasons of Creation acknowledges the glory of creation in a 4-part series in September. This thorough website offers readings, liturgies, Bible studies, sermons, children ministry tools, songs, visuals and reflections which lead congregations in the celebration of creation during their worship experience each Sunday. They offer resources on areas such as forests, land, rivers, mountains, the sky and humanity. This website reaches to people of all ages and all worship styles.

They say, “By concentrating our worship on God’s creation and our relationship with creation, we can seek ways to heal rather than exploit creation.”

http://www.seasonofcreation.com

The home page of the Evangelical Climate Initiative calls readers to pray, support and partner with their efforts. They suggest two actions: sign the Evangelical Call to Action on Climate Change and sign up to receive updates on how people are protecting the earth’s climate and the people it affects the most. This website has one page each dedicated to Christian leaders, concerned citizens, policy makers and the media.

This reader wishes the website would offer more informative material and practical actions for change within our own homes and communities.

http://christiansandclimate.org

In October 2008, The Mennonite published “Do You Have Pleonexia?” by Valerie Weaver-Zercher. The article discusses the desire for consumption specifically within the Mennonite church. Pleonexia is a Greek word which is described by ethicist John Haughey as “a passion for more” and Weaver-Zercher suggests that the problem is more than individualistic; it is nation-wide and therefore “our” problem. She says, “Only when we are aware of the cravings behind our consumption can we learn to look in places more likely to provide their fulfillment—such as church community, the natural world or worship—than things that moth and rust destroy.”

http://www.themennonite.org/issues/11-20

Anna Groff, assistant editor for The Mennonite, conducts a 3-part series in the summer of 2008 in which she interviews three couples who used green practices when planning their weddings. Speaking to invitations, gift registry and wedding favors, the couples answer Goff’s questions in a way that leaves the reader intrigued – not guilty. Groff’s style is informal as she lets each couple speak for themselves. Their actions toward stewardship are small, simple and hopeful.

Follow this link to the July article. Find the rest of the series by looking in back-issues of The Mennonite (8-19-2008 and 9-2-2008) or by searching their web for “wedding.”

http://www.themennonite.org/issues/11-13/articles/A_wedding_registry_with_the_earth_in_mind