Do we have an obligation to act in the face of a changing climate? And do moral arguments really move people to respond to this challenge? This class explores some ethical and theological reasons that we should care about what is happening to our planet, and how those reasons can motivate people to effective responses. We will talk about how faith communities have a role in responding to climate change, with a particular focus on how Anabaptist perspectives apply to climate change.

Instructor: Dr. Doug Graber Neufeld – Dr. Doug Graber Neufeld is Professor of biology at Eastern Mennonite University, where he advises environmental sustainability majors and teaches courses in environmental science and biology. He also directs the Center for Sustainable Climate Solutions, a collaborative effort between two Mennonite colleges (Eastern Mennonite University and Goshen College) and a Mennonite relief and development agency (Mennonite Central Committee). Dr. Neufeld earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin after three years studying blue crabs at a fishing village along the Gulf of Mexico. He held postdoctoral fellowships in Arizona and New Zealand. His primary interests are in the areas of climate change communication, environmental toxicology and monitoring, and international water issues. He has lived in Cambodia and Kenya where he worked on water projects with Mennonite Central Committee.