Ken Jobe: Root of climate change doubt

We adjust our behaviors to remain members of the tribe, whether the tribe is a community service organization, a high school clique or a Sunday school class. What happens when the shaman of the tribe is peddling bad medicine? What happens when the modern day shaman says climate change should not be fixed? How long does an enlightened member hew to the call that is clearly in error? What stops our challenge? We want to maintain membership in the tribe.

We think we cannot be conservative and say climate change is a threat. We fear our faith is compromised if we admit the need to fix climate change. We fear losing membership in political party if we verbalize the need to replace fossil fuel energy with clean energy. To remain in the tribe, we must at least reserve a level of doubt.

Of all the organizations in the country that should support action on climate change, the faith-based ones should be at the front of the line. It should be clear to anyone that the continued use of Earth as a repository for our garbage on the land, in the streams and into the air needs to be throttled.

This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Ken Jobe: Root of climate change doubt."