Climate project

Denistone East Uniting Church minister David Reichardt says his experience meeting former US Vice President Al Gore and being personally trained to communicate the complex issues around climate change has provided space to examine the relationship between being evangelical and how that relates to environmentalism.

“My passion is talking to people in and outside the church. Eco-theology … has afforded me endless opportunity to do more work around outreach.

“Some people in my work believe it is our job is to get people off this planet and delivered safely because the Earth has a use by date and we are all going to go up in flames.

“[But] I need to be clear that I believe this is about saving nature and the world, not just humans. I am doing a PhD in ecological theology and an important part is how we actually see ourselves as humans in nature and creation.”

Mr Reichardt is one of 162 climate change presenters personally trained by Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore as part of The Climate Project – Australia.

The Climate Project, in partnership with the Australian Conservation Foundation, trains people to present Al Gore’s presentation about global warming.

Through 250 Australia-based presenters, more than 70,000 people have heard a version of An Inconvenient Truth. The goal is that by August 2008 one in 100 Australian residents will have seen a climate change presenter deliver a version of the slide show.

Mr Reichardt said, “I think Mr Gore was exactly right when he said to us that there is nothing more important in his slide show presentation than the spirituality behind it — more so than the science and the facts and figures.”

When Gore asked for someone to lead the prayer to open the Melbourne training session, Mr Reichardt stuck his hand up. “I think Mr Gore has the most important job on the planet, so I prayed that God would bless and strengthen him.”

To find out more about the Climate Project: www.acfonline.org.au/climateproject