A United Methodist insight Column
Our favorite historian, Heather Cox Richardson, devoted most of her Aug. 4 “Letter from an American” to coronavirus pandemic developments. She writes:
“Today (Aug. 4) seemed to mark a popular backlash against Republican lawmakers who have been downplaying the coronavirus pandemic. The Delta variant of the deadly virus is ripping through unvaccinated populations in the U.S. with an average of 85,000 new cases a day, numbers that rival those of February, before we had accessible vaccines. One in three cases in the nation comes from either Florida or Texas.
“Lawmakers in South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Utah have prohibited schools from requiring masks, and South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Montana, Arizona, South Dakota, Texas, and Tennessee prohibit local governments from doing so.
“Today, two parents of school-aged children in Arkansas sued the state over its law banning the use of masks in schools. They are seeking immediate “protection from an irrational act of legislative madness that threatens K-12 public school children with irreparable harm.”
“'Without immediate intervention by the Arkansas judiciary,' the lawsuit says, 'the restrictions imposed on state and local officials by Act 1002 will result in many more Arkansas children becoming very sick, and some of them will inevitably die.'
NPR reports: “The number of children contracting the virus steadily increased in July, reaching 72,000 in the past week, or about a fifth of all new cases. The good news: Severe illness and death remain rare among child COVID-19 patients. More than 4.2 million U.S. children have tested positive, and 358 have been killed by the disease.”
How virulent is the surge? Within the United Methodist Church, Eastern Pennsylvania Conference reports that just three days after its previous update, the number of counties with increased rates in COVID-19 community transmission jumped from nine to 25, including several within the conference boundaries: Philadelphia, Lebanon, Montgomery and Lancaster.
Eastern Pennsylvania also is surveying its congregations for news of which churches plan memorial services to remember COVID victims. At least two churches, Holy Cross UMC (with campuses in Reading and at the former Calvary UMC in Wyomissing) and Christ UMC in Fairless Hills plan to focus their All Saints Sunday worship in November on COVID victims. The Rev. Mandy S. Miller, pastor of Holy Cross UMC, told Eastern Pennsylvania’s NEWSpirit newsletter: “Many of the services I held this past year were limited in who was invited, so this will be a way to invite families and the congregation to pause and give thanks for Christ's eternal promises.”
Medical needs for cooler air
This summer’s weather extremes have brought more parallels to the kind of climate catastrophe portrayed in the science fiction novel “Soylent Green” than I’m finding comfortable – to say nothing of the high heat and humidity that threaten because of my chronic medical conditions. It appears I’m not alone in these apprehensions.
NPR notes: “Some experts worry that global warming could kick off a vicious cycle in wealthier countries, with higher temperatures increasing demand for air conditioning. That could dramatically boost energy use, worsening global warming and increasing temperatures even more. But for some, air conditioning will be a medical necessity. Listen to learn more.”
The Guardian’s weekly averages of atmospheric CO2 readings as of July 25 found:
July 25 2021: 415.63 ppm (parts per million)
This time last year: 413.55 ppm
10 years ago: 392.21 ppm
Pre-industrial base: 280
Safe level: 350
Atmospheric CO2 reading from Mauna Loa, Hawaii (part per million). Source: NOAA-ESRL
The Guardian says: “Scientists have warned for more than a decade that concentrations of more than 450ppm risk triggering extreme weather events and temperature rises as high as 2C, beyond which the effects of global heating are likely to become catastrophic and irreversible. Read more about our weekly carbon count”
Covering Climate Now, the global collaboration of news outlets committed to enhanced climate coverage in which United Methodist Insight participates, couched the threat this week in current terms. Citing several athletes and staff overcome by the heat in Tokyo, The Climate Beat newsletter writes:
"The Olympics remind us that climate change is truly a story for every beat. It’s a health story. It’s a sports story. In climate news, we so often focus on macro effects: monster storms, devastated neighborhoods and countryside, so many billions of dollars lost in damages. It’s sobering to remember that the climate emergency is also a story about our bodies, the conditions we humans are made to take and those we are not. As the renowned climate author Bill McKibben [a United Methodist BTW] wrote recently for The New Yorker: 'In the end, we’re not collections of constructs or ideas or images or demographics but collections of arteries and organs and muscles,' he wrote, 'and those are designed to operate within a finite range of temperatures.'”
Media Mentions as of August 5, 2021
The Seas Are Rising. Could Oysters Help? – The New Yorker Magazine*
The Greenland ice sheet experienced a massive melting event last week – Washington Post*
A critical ocean system may be heading for collapse due to climate change, study finds – Washington Post*
Facebook is the new voice of temptation whispering to the church in the digital wilderness – Baptist News Global
On anniversary of El Paso massacre, leaders connect the bullets to beliefs of white supremacy – Baptist News Global
Mexico sues U.S.-based gunmakers over flow of arms across border – Washington Post*
Churches to mark Gun Violence Awareness Day, Sept. 19 – Eastern Pennsylvania NEWSpirit
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.