We Must Step Up

As we come to Parshat Noach we have once again been seeing powerful hurricanes and flooding wreaking havoc on parts of the U.S. and other areas of the world.  We know that chaotic events do occur in nature and that they can often be predicted with some degree of reliability.  When natural disasters wreak havoc, they do not do so based on the “lack of righteousness” of those in their path.  They strike all in their path equally.

Rabbi Michael Gold wrote about the chaos we’ve been experiencing in the following way:  “It is almost like G-d stepped back and let chaos reign.  This is precisely what the Bible says happened in the days of Noah.  G-d did not cause the Great Flood.  G-d stopped holding the waters back and the waters above co-mingle once again with the waters below.  (Just as they co-mingled before G-d stepped in to create the world).  The forces of chaos are natural forces in the world.”

If we indeed feel that G-d is stepping back, what are we doing to cause the chaos to be more noticeable via superstorms? Scientists have been explaining to us the results of global warming caused by increased carbon emissions in the atmosphere. They have explained that as the world warms, evaporation speeds up and there is more water vapor available for a storm to sweep up and dump along its path. The world’s rising temperatures cause sea levels to rise as polar icecaps melt and these two contributing factors in turn have changed the intensity, path and location of the storms we have experienced and will experience.  Severe downpours are now more likely, leading to increased flooding. If G-d is stepping back what are we doing to step up?

 

On Monday of this week there was a report issued by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that said the planet will reach the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by as early as 2030, precipitating the risk of extreme drought, wildfires, floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions of people.

This date is based on the current level of greenhouse gas emissions.  The report is basically calling on all of us, individuals and governments to respond now. The responses that will make a difference will require widespread changes in energy, industry, buildings, transportation and cities.

The planet is already two-thirds of the way there, with global temperatures having warmed about 1 degree C. Avoiding going even higher will require significant action in the next few years.

"This is concerning because we know there are so many more problems if we exceed 1.5 degrees C global warming, including more heatwaves and hot summers, greater sea level rise, and, for many parts of the world, worse droughts and rainfall extremes.”

The story of Noah ends with G-d promising unconditionally that He would never send another flood to destroy all life on the earth.  Do we understand that even with our understanding of that promise, never-the-less we ourselves must act to avoid the rising sea levels, extreme weather patterns, and devastating conditions that are currently threatening and will continue to threaten great masses of individuals living in coastal regions. Unless  we turn the tide on global warming we cannot say that we are taking our role as G-d’s partner in taking care of the Earth seriously.

Taking a stand on the environment and our need to protect it from devastation is not considered to be a political statement by Judaism.  It is considered to be a statement of Jewish values in relationship to our need to act as stewards of the Earth.  As we think about parshat Noach, may we remind ourselves that we cannot be like Noah who did nothing to change the world by increasing the light in a world filled with cruelty.  He did not express his outrage that all life would be eliminated except that which he was commanded to save.  We need to be outraged that many lives on this planet will be negatively affected if we do not act to stem the rising temperatures that are already causing super storms to form.  We must speak up, act, and do what we can to ensure that if G-d steps back, we step up to curtail the current disaster knocking on our doorstep.