letters

UU World: The Magazine of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Fall 2005

GLOBAL WARMING

I was impressed with Jon Luoma's article ("Slaves to Energy," May/ June). He poses the problem of climate change in a moral context, expresses succinctly the salient facts, and gets the science just right. The Cedar Lane study was particularly gratifying, with its thoughtfully independent conclusions that, while hardly fitting the unspoken orthodoxy of many UUs, are nevertheless realistic short-term alternatives to our fossil fuel addiction.

In that context I was particularly distressed to read in the same issue Will Hamrick's letter claiming "there is essentially no global warming." I respect Mr. Hamrick's libertarian views and truly hope there's room for his political bent in our denomination. But science is not a matter of political opinion, and to deny global warming is to deny what is by now overwhelming scientific evidence that (1) Earth has warmed in the past fifty years at a rate unprecedented in at least a few thousand years and (2) much of this warming is due to human activity, in particular the combustion of fossil fuels. That increased atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to warming is not a matter of opinion or even complex science; it's simple physics.

There's some uncertainty about just how much warming there will be, how fast it will come, and how it will be distributed-but the fact of human-induced global warming is now so well established it's embarrassing to see it questioned in a reputable publication like UU World.

RICHARD WOLFSON

Weybridge, Vermont

(the writer is professor of Physics and Environmental Studies at Middlebury College in Vermont)

Luoma reported on the study group at Cedar Lane UU in Bethesda, Maryland. Group members seriously considered nuclear energy, but overlooked a more obvious solution to global climate change. A moratorium on childbirth, particularly among those in affluent societies, will solve this problem within one generation.This will not be easy. As a denomination, we too subscribe to the myth of "expand or die." And yet, if we do not voluntarily solve this problem now, it will be involuntarily solved for us sooner than we wish.

JOHN C. SLOAN

Hollywood, Florida

The article by Jon Luoma places our energy dependence into a historic context and discusses what we can do to better manage it. There are several compelling reasons for us to overcome our addiction to fossil fuels in addition to their role in global warming.

First is the problem of air pollution caused by fossil fuel combustion. Recall smog, acid rain, mercury, ozone, and the like. second is the destruction of natural wilderness areas caused by drilling and mining. Third is the fact that our need for foreign oil drives us to war and undermines our role in world politics. Finally, with respect to our dependence on oil there is the unavoidable fact that global production will begin to decline in the near future. Mother Nature only gave her children so much petroleum; she was trying to tell us something.

RICHARD TREPTOW

Richton Park, Illinois

I agreed with author Jon Luoma that we need to do things to "save energy and cut pollution" and that there are no simple steps to do so. However, I was concerned that the steps he did offer ("What You Can Do") are much too simple, and will not have the necessary impact.

It is easy to simply replace highenergy-consuming goods with those that use less energy. It is harder to stop using such goods altogether. Energy-consuming goods not only take the energy that powers them, they also require energy and resources in their manufacture and disposal. We often ignore these "hidden" costs.

What will be required of us as we head into an energy-uncertain future is to stop buying energy-consuming products that we don't really need. No one needs a clothes dryer or a car; we simply want them.

Now is the time to examine each aspect of our lives-and think before we buy or consume anything. If you want to start curbing carbon dioxide with steps that save money you'll do better if you don't buy stuff in the first place!

REV. JANE DWINELL

Montpelier, Vermont

PRISON MINISTRY

The articles on prison ministry and the proposed UUA Statement of Conscience ("Ministry Behind Bars," May/June) were a depressing reminder of how much worse things have become since the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee launched the National Moratorium on Prison Construction thirty years ago. In 1975 we were appalled that 500,000 Americans were behind bars, and we tried to be a rallying point for prison activists nationwide. We staffed offices in Washington, Atlanta, and San Francisco. We educated and organized, demonstrated and testified, did research and published the most comprehensive data on new prison construction available. But the country was hell-bent on punishment as social policy, and today more than 2,000,000 are behind bars. Hats off to YRUU and CLF for putting this issue back on the General Assembly agenda.

RICHARD SCOBIE

Waltham, Massachusetts

(the writer is executive director emeritus of UUSC)

Many thanks to UU World and to writer Warren Ross for your fine and fair description of the Church of the Larger Fellowship's prison ministry pen pal program. Prompted by your article, many UUs from across the country have become pen pals to imprisoned CLF members. There is still a waiting list of prisoners and we hope that even more readers will explore this rewarding way to spread the hopeful message of Unitarian Universalism.