“To know what we are doing, and to know that what we are doing is destroying our life, and still to go on doing it: can this be called anything but madness?” — Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America
This summer was the hottest ever recorded in the lower 48 states. It wasn’t just a feeling—NOAA confirmed it.1 From June to August, the average temperature was 74.4 degrees Fahrenheit, three degrees above the twentieth-century average. August also set a new record for heat.
Just five days after NOAA released these numbers, the Environmental Protection Agency said it would remove federal limits on greenhouse-gas emissions from coal and gas power plants.2 Consider these two facts together.
We know the planet is getting warmer, and we know the reasons. Burning coal, oil, and gas releases greenhouse gases that trap heat. We can measure carbon dioxide in the air and rising ocean temperatures. We see glaciers shrinking and sea levels rising. We can even predict more extreme heat. The real question now isn’t about what we know, but what we do with that knowledge.
Many wisdom traditions warn about a spiritual danger: seeing the truth clearly, but then living in a way that lets us avoid responding to it.
The Hebrew prophets called this attitude hardness of heart. They cared less about whether people had the right facts and more about whether that knowledge changed how they lived.
The Buddha taught that ignorance, or avijjā, is a root cause of suffering. But in Buddhism, ignorance isn’t just missing facts. It’s failing to see reality clearly enough to stop doing things that cause suffering.
We have more climate data than any people before us. Satellites track the atmosphere, ocean buoys record warming seas, and supercomputers predict possible futures. Scientists study ice cores and tree rings to learn about past climates. We can see the planet’s temperature change almost as it happens. Yet, we can still choose not to turn this knowledge into wisdom.
The Trump administration explained its decision this way. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said removing the power-plant rules would save hundreds of billions in compliance costs, boost energy production, and help meet rising electricity demand. Coal and utility groups said earlier rules threatened grid reliability and made electricity more expensive for consumers.
But economic arguments can’t change physical reality. Carbon dioxide keeps trapping heat, no matter what regulations cost. The atmosphere doesn’t negotiate, vote, or react to political messages. It only responds to chemistry and physics.
That fact is spiritually clarifying. People often spend a lot of energy coming up with reasons why we can’t change. It’s too expensive, too disruptive, or too hard politically. We might think someone else should act first, or that technology will fix things later. But the atmosphere keeps taking in whatever we put into it.
Maybe this is the point where knowledge turns into responsibility. When we know our actions cause harm, it’s morally different to keep doing them than if we didn’t know.
That doesn’t mean moving away from fossil fuels will be easy. Millions of people rely on today’s energy systems for their jobs. Communities need affordable electricity. A fair transition must support workers, low-income families, rural areas, and people whose lives depend on coal, oil, and gas.
But just because it’s complicated doesn’t mean we should do nothing. We know enough to start taking action.
Maybe this is the deeper question behind climate change. It’s not about having enough information, but about whether we’re willing to let what we know change us. Knowledge that doesn’t shape our choices isn’t wisdom yet.
We’ve measured the heat and know where most of it comes from. Now we face the harder challenge.
What will we let that knowledge ask of us?
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What truth do you already know that has not yet changed the way you live?
When does complexity become a legitimate reason for moving carefully, and when does it become an excuse for avoiding responsibility?
What would it mean for your knowledge about the changing climate to become wisdom expressed through the choices you make?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer: Give Us Wisdom for What We Know
Holy One, We have learned so much about this beautiful Earth. We can measure the warming seas, watch glaciers retreat, trace carbon through the atmosphere, and see storms gathering from space. Do not let knowledge end in knowing. Give us courage to be changed by what we see. Where we have caused harm, teach us repair. Where change carries a cost, teach us to bear it together. Where fear tells us that another way is impossible, awaken our imagination. May knowledge become wisdom, wisdom become courage, and courage become care for this living world we share. Amen.
Spiritual Practice: Let One Thing You Know Change One Thing You Do
Most of us don’t need to hear another climate statistic right now. So, skip researching climate change for now. Instead, pick one thing you already know.
Maybe you know that burning fossil fuels warms the atmosphere. Or you might realize that your food, travel, investments, energy use, or political choices have effects you can’t always see right away.
Write down one sentence: I know that __________.
Then, underneath it, write: Because I know this, I will __________.
Make sure your second answer is something small enough that you can actually do it.
You could change how you travel this week, look into where your electricity comes from, move some money toward a climate solution, plant something, reach out to an elected official, support a local resilience project, or find out what climate risks your community is preparing for.
What matters most is not which action you choose, but that you start turning what you know into how you live.
At the end of the day, look back at your two sentences. Notice how it feels when something you know starts to become something you actually do.
There’s an old name for that shift: Wisdom.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
September 17, 2026, 7-8:45pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman for an online session on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” monthly series. Eidetic Imagery is a powerful tool for pastors, denominational leaders, coaches, and spiritual directors working with others, and for individuals seeking deeper integration and healing in their own lives. Jackie is a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, and has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTER for the first session HERE!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
November 10, 7-8:30pm ET - I’ll be joined by theologian, writer, and professor Dr. Debra Rienstra for a special ONLINE conversation on Refugia Faith. In ecology, refugia are small places where life survives amid disruption, pockets of resilience from which life can eventually regenerate and spread. Debra invites us to consider what this might mean spiritually in an age of climate instability, political turmoil, institutional decline, and profound uncertainty. What if our congregations, communities, relationships, and even our own lives could become refugia, places where courage, compassion, beauty, wisdom, and possibility are protected and cultivated for whatever comes next? I hope you’ll join us for this timely and deeply hopeful conversation. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Become more comfortable talking to others about creation care and more confident acting on solutions. Join Blessed Tomorrow + Faith Training on 9/26. Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/fBrgjj76QemIfWeSP2bJRQ
My dear friend, Rev. Shawna Bowman has just launched a new podcast with musician Jennifer Knapp called “My Wise Friend Podcast.” They talk about it this way: “You might know Jennifer from her years as a touring musician and songwriter, weaving stories and songs together across the country. You might know Shawna from their work as an artist, speaker, and community leader exploring the intersection of spirituality, justice, and creativity. While our daily work looks different, we share a deep love for real talk, deep questions, and finding wisdom in unexpected places.” I am so excited about this! I hope you will check it out and support them. https://www.patreon.com/cw/mywisefriendpodcast
I’m delighted to celebrate the upcoming release of Wisdom Church: Abundant Life for Aging Congregations by my colleague, Rev. Dr. Anna Hall. Rather than seeing aging congregations as communities in decline, Anna invites us to recognize them as communities rich with wisdom, purpose, and possibility. Her book offers a hopeful vision for moving beyond anxiety about the future and embracing the unique gifts of older adults as beloved children of God. If your congregation is navigating these questions, this is a resource well worth reading. You can preorder the Kindle edition now, with delivery on August 17: https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Church-Abundant-Aging-Congregations-ebook/dp/B0HBXGYTWC
Every Monday, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202608
Although man is capable of critical thinking with abilities to act on knowledge, we are the most ignorant of all species and always will be stupid.
America is proving it beyond a doubt with Trump. Everyone knows that he is destroying America and the world and even many of his Reich/gang know it but, greed and power are all consuming and true facts are irrelevant. The latest AI scare is a prime example. We have been told (and should have already known) that AI has or will have the ability to outsmart and/or destroy civilization. A whistleblower has finally told us, and now we want to slow the process down. Too little too late……