Responding to Climate Crisis

Earth and all its communities of life are experiencing a climate crisis, a phrase broadly understood here as the disruption of the Earth’s systems. This disruption, caused by social, political, economic, cultural, and ecological turmoil, upheaval, and violence, negatively affects the atmosphere in which life exists. In the midst of such disruption, how can we have hope? And, if we can, where can we find it and keep it alive? This edited collection brings together the work of thirteen theologians, philosophers, and scientists from disparate parts of our shared Earth to continue the efforts of Thomas Berry in arguing that hope can be found even in the midst of global crises. Though each essay offers a different vision of hope, they agree with Berry’s vision of shifting to an Earth-centered world from a human-centered one. Through this radical shift, we see ourselves as not alone but rather woven within a network of living communities equally affected by devastating changes. By collaborating with other-than-human communities on this planet, the scholars herein reconceptualize hope, thereby challenging traditional ways of thinking about and solutions for today’s multi-layered issues. When those on the margins of life are seen, heard, respected, cherished, and listened to, then hope flourishes and all life recovers its vibrancy.