Mary and I have lived in Whangarei, NZ, for 30 years. Whangarei is latitude 35, Ho Chi Minh is 10, Yangon is 16, Nairobi is 1.2, Winnipeg 49, and Lima is 12. Whangarei does not have a tropical climate, but it has a temperate climate. Our summer average temperature is about 23, our winter average about 15.
When we first came here, a few people were trying to grow bananas. This was not easy. For the first few years, we had 3-4 frosts every winter, and sometimes there was ice on the puddles. It has been years since we had frosts. Today many people are growing bananas, pineapples, and more recently peanuts, sometimes commercially. The other day I read that someone was growing jackfruit. I was amazed, and then I thought well hopefully mangoes will be next as we all love mangoes which usually come to us from Australia or Peru. But then I had an email from an RNDM in Dhaka, Bangladesh, who said climate change seemed to have prevented a good mango harvest. Climate change is a mixed blessing.
Susan Smith RNDM is a lecturer emerita in The University of Auckland’s Department of Theology. Her PhD was on developments in Catholic missiology after Vatican II. After her retirement from The University of Auckland, Susan also provided NT modules for the University of Newcastle, Australia, and a Women in Leadership module for Duquesne University. Susan lives with another member of her congregation in Whangarei, New Zealand, where both are committed to exploring experientially what it means to live in an eco-community. Both are involved in neighborhood environment organizations. They are particularly interested in what might shape eco-spiritualities in New Zealand.
I definitely believe it, living in western Manitoba. I don’t have a garden, but this summer, we have a number of changes here: extreme heat, thunderstorms and tornados, flash flooding in my town, and what the news calls “an unprecented number of mosquitos.” It would not surprise me at all if we could soon grow new more tropical crops here, at least in the summer months.
Thanks so much for this, reflection, Susan. I am reading a very good book at the moment by Brian McLaren titled “Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage For A World Falling Apart.” (2024) It is about climate change. He says “there is life after doom, but to get there, first you have to face the doom.” McLaren is a former evangelical pastor but this book is not about religion; it is a pragmatic response that gives me hope.
Thank you very much, Susan for pointing out the obvious, despite the denial of some folks who choose not to believe the obvious. Here in the prairie provinces of Canada, we have had a record number of 48 tornadoes and it is only mid-July. That is a huge sign of climate change for us. We have also been experiencing extremely hot temperatures and severe rainstorms. There is no doubt in my mind that climate change is happening in real time. Thanks for pointing this important environmental factor out to all readers of the RNDM Blog.
Climate change
Yes, I believe climate change is a fact now. And, Susan, as you suggest, we are experiencing it first hand. Today, here in many parts of Canada, we are being advised to stay indoors if we can, or use masks outdoors to protect ourselves from smoke particles from the massive wildfires currently burning our stressed forests. Wildfires are burning all over the world. Scientists have shown that our earth is warming more than ever before because of increased use of fossil fuels over the past century. Our Canadian government led by PM Mark Carney, along with Alberta and Ontario premiers, are promoting the building of oil pipelines to ship more fossil fuels for the world to use. We are being told our economy needs these public (tax-payer funded) investments in infrastructure to export this oil, while at the same time, much of the world is moving away from fossil fuels as their main source of energy as quickly as they can. China is already a super power in clean energy technology. It is not sound economics if our markets won’t want this product. It is not morally ok to promote a product that harms this beautiful planet and all who are trying to live here. So, the question I have is “Have we lost our minds?”