Talis Shelbourne

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Growing up in Los Angeles, a young Jonathan Barker watched as smog blanketed his city and prevented him from going to school.

At times, he couldn’t breathe due to severe asthma attacks.

On Feb. 15, Barker, now the pastor of Kenosha’s Grace Lutheran Church, announced he was starting a 12-day hunger strike to persuade Wisconsin politicians to act on climate change.

Barker said he chose the number 12 because of a United Nations report that estimated the planet has only 12 years to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsbefore facing irreversible climate change. He also said he specifically wants to prompt Wisconsin's senators, Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican Ron Johnson, to support the Green New Deal Resolution.

The Green New Deal, or House Resolution 109, was introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Its goals to address climate change include producing zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, building high-speed rail and cleaning up hazardous waste.

Barker said the Green New Deal shouldn’t be seen as a "draconian" sacrifice because of its positive side effects, such as cleaner water and job creation.

“This is an opportunity to really set a vision,” Barker said. “It could shape our culture and our community and uplift a lot of people.”

With his advocacy for the environment, Barker joins a growing trend of faith leaders who see climate change as a faith ethic.

In 2018, Pope Francis said climate change was human-made and urged oil leaders to produce less-emitting fuels.

“From a faith standpoint, it’s about protecting God’s creation that God has so graciously entrusted to us,” Barker explained. “And secondly, it’s about loving my neighbor. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves and I am so concerned about my neighbor because we already see hurricanes, fires, floods (and) droughts.”

To address this problem, Barker started with himself.

He started making changes to reduce his carbon footprint in 2010, going vegan, buying a battery-electric vehicle and upgrading his house with insulation, a smart thermostat and solar panels.



In his church, he installed LED bulbs in the light fixtures and started serving free meals on exclusively washable dishes.

Now, he said he wants his parishioners – and politicians – to make similar changes.



“For me, this is absolutely the most important ethical moment of our generation,” he said. “We value our government protecting us from climate catastrophes.”



Barker plans to hold a news conference Monday to describe his mission and inform community members of the Green New Deal. He also invited fellow youth leaders Tova Reardon and Brooke Bear to speak.

On Saturday, day nine, Barker said he's holding up well, thanks to support from his community, communion and lots of water.

After the hunger strike, he said he doesn’t plan to stop advocating for climate change and will fast every Friday.

“I certainly want to continue to be in the fight,” he said. “I am deeply passionate. We need a solution to this.”

Barker's news conference will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Immanuel United Methodist Church, 5410 Sheridan Road, Kenosha.

What do you think of the Green New Deal? Contact Talis Shelbourne at (414) 223-5261 or tshelbourn@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @talisseer Facebook at @talisseer.