Washington National Cathedral

The Sunday Forum: Critical Issues in the Light of Faith

The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, host

Cathedral Dean Samuel T. Lloyd III converses with Mike Tidwell, founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, about “Climate Morality: Why Clean Energy is a Religious Issue.”

Tidwell asserts that Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region are more vulnerable to global warming than many other parts of the world. The Potomac, a tidal river, exposes the capital to risks as the sea level rises. Beaches and seaside cemeteries are disappearing from Maryland’s extensive coastline. Although hurricanes most seriously affect tropical regions, Tidwell reports that insurance companies now refuse to issue homeowner insurance policies in some Maryland coastal communities.

“We are all New Orleanians. We are all subject to the impacts of climate change,” Tidwell states. “It’s here now.”

According to Tidwell, global warming should no longer be viewed as a scientific or political controversy. He says that the exiting administration of George W. Bush released a statement affirming that sea level is rising more quickly in the mid Atlantic region as a result of global warming. Corporations are changing their business practices in accordance with what they are seeing in the world around them. The denial of global warming is a fringe viewpoint, Tidwell says.

He does offer hope. Fortunately, alternative fuels are now more available and more competitively priced. Tidwell even reports that, in Maryland, wind power is now less expensive for consumers than coal-fired electricity.

Once the United States improves its environmental practices, Tidwell predicts that “we’re going to be more prosperous, and more at peace with our neighbors, because of clean energy.”

The faith community should recognize global warming as a moral issue, in Tidwell’s view. “Creation is glorious. . . . We were given this amazing bounty by our creator,” he asserts, “and we are instructed to be good shepherds of this creation. . . . It is ours to protect and not to destroy.”

Chesapeake Climate Action Network is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Tidwell is an activist, author, and filmmaker who predicted in vivid detail the Katrina hurricane disaster in his 2003 book Bayou Farewell: The Rich Life and Tragic Death of Louisiana’s Cajun Coast.

His newest book, focusing on Katrina and global warming, is titled The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America’s Coastal Cities. Tidwell’s most recent documentary film, We Are All Smith Islanders, vividly depicts the dangers of global warming in the greater Washington, D.C., region. Tidwell serves on the steering committee of Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light.

About Mike Tidwell

Mike Tidwell is founder and director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. His newest book, focusing on Katrina and global warming, is titled The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America’s Coastal Cities. Tidwell’s most recent documentary film, We Are All Smith Islanders, vividly depicts the dangers of global warming in the greater Washington, D.C., region. Tidwell serves on the steering committee of Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light.