Bishop Chilton Knudsen and spiritual leaders of most major denominations in Maine signed a letter last fall recognizing that human-induced global warming threatens "destruction of habitat, species extinction, inundation of low-lying land by rising seas, and increasing weather extremes." These dramatic changes will affect most "poor, sick, elderly, children, and generations yet unborn." We should take the Bishop’s stand on this issue as encouragement to become educated about this issue, to embrace the challenge, and to take political action in our state and country to reduce energy use and slow global warming.

Maine’s forests, coastal areas, lakes and streams, agricultural production and human health may be strongly affected by global warming. Maine will lose coastal beaches and tidal marches, which are breeding grounds for many commercial fishery species. Maine’s forest ecosystems will experience the death of many cool temperature-loving species of spruce and fir and some species of hardwoods will take longer to reestablish themselves. Animal ranges will have to adapt, moving northward as the climate warms, bringing new breeding songbirds, turkey vultures and snowy egrets into Maine, but also extending mosquito, tick and insect agricultural pest ranges farther north.

At the time of the creation God instructed Adam to "Be fruitful and multiply. Replenish the earth and subdue it." We have followed these instructions of God enthusiastically. Our much-subdued world is struggling under the burden of our ever-increasing numbers. If we obeyed God’s other laws with the same thoroughness, our world might resemble the much-desired Kingdom of God. This need to multiply is built into our genes, and thus we have no trouble keeping those instructions. There is nothing that brings such happiness into a family as the safe arrival of a new member. Still, in addition to endowing us with the desire to have and raise children we were also given intelligence. Surely God meant us to use it to preserve his creation.

We recently learned that world population passed the six billion mark and growth shows little sign of slowing down. The United States population is expected to increase at a rate of about three million a year, reaching a total of 310 million by 2015. By that time Maine’s population is predicted to reach a total of 1.36 million, an increase of 120,000. Naturally all such estimates are based on the idea that no unforeseen changes will influence growth rates. Such continued increase will certainly have a number of adverse effects of our environment. Here in Maine we feel somewhat insulated from the effects of the increasing numbers in the rest of the world. At the present time there is a marked disparity between the fertility rates of the industrialized nations and the developing nations. The U.S. is alone in having a higher fertility rate than the other industrialized nations.

Each increase in the number of humans striving for the best living standard attainable results in an increasing burden on the world’s ecology. A rising living standard is usually attained with an increased use of energy. We in the U.S. are the most profligate users of energy with a consumption rate may times higher than those in most developing countries. Consequently, an increasing U.S. population produces higher levels of environmental damage. While we can solve such local problems as river pollution, ground water contamination, and solid waste disposal, we are subject to the atmospheric and oceanic changes that arise in our continent and other parts of the world.