By Francean Campbell-Rich - Writer, Artist, Christ's Church Cathedral
Published: December 2007
Related Topics: Current Issues
Certainly not stewards of the earth. Too much time has passed. Too many voices have
spoken. Too many scientists are agreed. Climate is changing--more quickly than we might ever have imagined.
In less than one lifetime we have seen the evidence: wildfire, hurricane, flood, drought, dwindling icecap, rising/receding shorelines, tsunamis, diminishing wildlife, pandemic disease--and we are reluctant to look at it.
To liars and deniars--we continue to listen to them. To fundamentalists and literalists--we continue to tolerate them. To Genesis creationists--we misread 'dominion'.
We have left undone what we ought to have done; we all know what that is, and it's not
just about styrofoam cups and blue boxes. Reduce, reuse, recycle, restore--all good and well enough. European countries are way ahead of us on all these and more. China and India have hardly yet begun, and the USA lags behind. The human footprint is now the mark of condemnation. Life on earth is not endlessly resilient.
How many trees died today to provide the printed paper, mostly ads, that arrives on our doorsteps?
Observe the number of bags of garbage weekly on our streets headed for landfill.
How much of our donations to the church will go to solar panels? To rainwater collection? To heating controls?
How many of our churches provide or arrange shared transportation?
How much carbon dioxide did we add to the air this week?
Regard and repent. We must change our ways, and do better. God help us.