Despite those who deny there is a climate change issue, countries and religious groups are moving forward again to address the impact of human life on the planet.
“We’ve become detached from nature,” Maathai told me recently during a trip to New York City. “And as you move away from nature, you become lost.”
I was recently in America. It’s a country I love but it was depressing. All the energy for legislating on climate change has drained away. Those once leading the debate are now silent, the deniers have turned up the volume. The Administration has stalled on this vital subject.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in Des Moines, began a renovation in October that will transform a parking area into a green space reminiscent of its original look.
Human self-centeredness leads to the mindless exploitation and destruction of other life forms and the earth. This diminishes the beauty of creation and devalues other living things, including other humans, animals, and plants in addition to future generations.
Mallory McDuff writes about saints who respond through faith to environmental degradation here on earth, rather than wait for heaven.
“Human beings are the only species in the world which no other species actually needs.” That is to say, the bear needs the fish, the fish need smaller fish, the beaver need the foliage, etc., etc. But no other species actually needs human beings for their existence.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, located in midtown Atlanta, has reduced its carbon footprint by a third over the past four years.
It is perhaps only more evidence for why we need ritual in our lives: that act of doing something one has done before, but, even though it’s the same thing, being able to see it as one never has before.
Church Publishing has just released a new intergenerational curiculuum on living more gently on earth, and in harmony with nature. Might be worth a look if you’re starting to plan for this coming Church year’s programs.