6:30 - 8 p.m.
Campus Center Event Space
The Violence and the Hope of Climate Change
Climate change is a form of violence. Decisions made by some people are harming others as waters rise, droughts worsen, and forests burn. Christians, called to care for creation, must lament this violence. But Christians are also called to be peacemakers, and our traditions contain many examples of constructive and creative resistance against violence. Learning from key Christian peacemakers from the past, contemporary people can find tools to resist the injustices of climate change and deepen care for all our neighbors in the warming world.
Kevin J. O’Brien is Professor of Religion and Environmental Studies at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. His teaching and research focus on environmental ethics and climate change, stressing the intersections of ethics, religion, nonviolence, and social justice.Recent books include Environmental Ethics and Uncertainty: Wrestling with Wicked Problems, with Whitney Bauman and The Violence of Climate Change: Lessons of Resistance from Nonviolent Activists. His next book, to be published this winter, is entitled, Meeting the Enemy: The Fossil Fuel Industry and the Power of Christian Resistance.
