Enabling the reforms needed to change the climate
When I think about dealing with climate change, I think of wind turbines and solar panels, for example. But there are surprising other things we need.
An example: Suppose, because of our great wind and solar energy, we produce more energy than Iowa can use and our batteries are full. What do we do with that extra energy? Maybe sell it to Maine if they’ve had cloudy, non-windy days. And what about when Iowa is cloudy for days with no wind and our battery storage runs out? It would be great if we could buy energy from Arizona, where they may have more energy than they can use at the time.
But our electricity grid is not designed for that kind of energy distribution. New lines need to be built and the lines we have need to be upgraded. Utilities would ultimately make money from such investments because of the increased market opportunities.
“So build them,” you say. But it would take decades because of the licensing rules, and we don’t have those!
One of the most important things we need from Congress now is to allow reforms: changes to our laws to allow for faster improvements in network infrastructure, while still being mindful of environmental issues and social justice, something both parties support.
So let Senators Ernst and Grassley, and Representatives Miller-Meeks, Nunn, Hinsley, and Feenstra know that in addition to renewable energy, we also need reforms so that we can actually use that renewable energy.
Honestly,
Peter Rolnick
Iowa City
Bibles in classrooms, be careful what you wish for
Proponents argued that this is a matter of historical documents. Students should be educated about its “historical significance.” It will be a source of anger and bitterness at school meetings. Children of parents who believe the Bible is divinely inspired will report at home that I, their teacher, said it was only a historical document and not divinely inspired. No doubt these people will end up at school board meetings demanding that I be disciplined or fired.
This will now put school boards, teachers and other officials in an unenviable situation. Will local or state officials institute some form of religious orthodoxy requirement for teachers? To ensure adherence to the Bible, the state superintendent must then establish a Biblical Curriculum Review Board to ensure that the “correct interpretation” of the Bible is taught. on every subject? In every school district? For example, geological data show that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Some, but not all, Biblical believers think it’s a matter of give or take for 5,000 years. So what’s happening in geology education? Let’s not even think about evolutionary biology.
If we are going to treat this as a historical document, we need to be able to show students how to evaluate it through different critical lenses. For example, I would learn how Southern slavers and other white supremacists used the Bible to justify slavery and portray enslaved Africans as subhuman. This use of the Bible did not cease after Lee surrendered to Grant, but continued through Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, and continues in some quarters even today.
As I explore its use as a justification for enslavement, murder, forced labor, torture, and systemic racism of captured Africans, I would like to go further to highlight its use to justify the forced conversion of First Peoples across North America; all the while stealing their land and decimating their population.
If we are going to use the Bible in English and literature classes, I would select which stories are taught. (Obviously I would avoid the lustful, like Genesis 19.) I would choose Job. What kind of portrayal do we get of the Almighty in Job? God is actually tempted by the Devil to prove Job’s loyalty. By testing Job, God allows Satan to kill all of Job’s loved ones, kill him with a terrible disease, and ruin him financially. Job, ever loyal, finds reasons to report these deeds to the Almighty. Job is rewarded by gaining even more material benefits than he originally lost. God wins the bet. Proves the devil wrong. I am aware of exegesis that attempts to explain or mitigate the apparently immoral actions on God’s part. I don’t buy them. So when I tell the story, I would say this is a vision of being jealous and violent. Now your children will go home and tell them what I learned. . . Well, you know where this ends.
You don’t want someone like me teaching your children about the immoral behavior of the Biblical Almighty. I don’t blame you. If I were you, I wouldn’t do that either. Look, if you are a parent or pastor who has a particular view of Biblical orthodoxy, do you really want every atheist, heretic, Unitarian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Papist teaching your children about the Bible? I don’t think so. So it is in the interest of Bible-loving Christians everywhere to oppose the placement of Bibles in schools. Religious education belongs in the home or parochial schools. Not PS 1. If you allow Bibles in classrooms, the only way to prevent this is to install some kind of Inquisition-like commissions to enforce a preferred sectarian interpretation. History shows the importance of this.
Randy Richards, professor emeritus
Iowa City
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Enabling reforms needed for a changing climate | Letters
Leave a Reply