Early Summer Reading: Creation Corner Column June 2013

Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth. Bill Powers. New Society Publishers. Explains why shale gas is not the "game-changer" touted by many. Earth Repair: A Grassroots Guide to Healing Toxic and Damaged Landscapes. Leila Darwish. New Society Publishers. From and for those who are impatient, not wanting to wait for the healing of the world. Eco-Business: A Big-Brand Takeover of Sustainability. Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister. MIT Press. Two experts explain the consequences for the planet when corporations use sustainability as a business tool. The Environmental Advantages of Cities: Countering Commonsense Antiurbanism. William B. Meyer. MIT Press. An analysis that offers evidence to challenge the widely held assumption that urbanization and environmental quality are necessarily at odds. The Five Stages of Collapse: Survivors' Toolkit. Dmitry Orlov. New Society Publishers. Especially for those who think collapse is impossible, this is an entertaining look. Flourishing: A Frank Conversation About Sustainability. John R. Ehrenfeld and Andrew J. Hoffman. Stanford Univ. Press. Of this book, Bill McKibben says: "These are unexpectedly deep and moving conversations about where we can go, and where we must go, both as individuals and as a planet. It's a hardheaded account of the sacredness of the earth, and what that implies for our work and society." The Great Reversal: How We Let Technology Take Control of the Planet. David Edward Tabachnick. Yale University Press. A history of technology, how it threatens our humanity, and clouds our judgment about what constitutes the good life. Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature. Vaclav Smil. MIT Press. An interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistoric hunting to modern energy production. Henry D. Thoreau, Essays: A Fully Annotated Edition. Edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer. Yale University Press. Arranged chronologically, Thoreau's outlets for his thinking are laid out in the periodical press, newspapers, compendiums and lectures. Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community and the Common Good. Cecile Andrews. New Society Publishers. An enjoyable primer on how to enrich our lives and make the world a better place at the same time. Living Through the End of Nature: The Future of American Environmentalism. Paul Wapner. MIT Press. An analysis of the theoretical issues of current environmentalism. The Rediscovery of the Wild. edited by Peter H. Kahn, Jr., and Patricia H. Hasbach. MIT Press. A compelling case for connecting with the wild, for our psychological and physical well-being and to flourish as a species. Small Stories, Big Changes: Agents of Change on the Frontlines of Sustainability. Lyle Estill. New Society Publishers. Determined people hard at work on the front lines of the sustainability movement share their inspiring stories. Supply Shock: Economic Growth at the Crossroads and the Steady State Solution. Brian Czech. New Society Publishers. A vision of steady statesmanship leadership helps to manage and conserve the natural resources and habitats of the world.

Creation Corner: World Environment Day, June 5: Think, Eat, Save

Sustainable Consumption is the theme for the United Nations Environment Program World Environment Day, held each year on June 5. This provides a "teachable moment" for many reading this column.

As we acquire more than we need, and produce much waste as we do, we consume natural resources at an unsustainable pace. A "tipping point" is reached where the quality of our air and water is threatened. Dangerous low levels of non-renewable resources can result, and the environment becomes degraded. The poorest world populations are especially impacted.

The massive loss of biodiversity magnifies the worsening scenario, with current extinction rates of birds, mammals and amphibians rising.

The future of a high quality of life, our own well-being, are being compromised. The way we use and dispose of the products we own and consume needs to be changed, so that future generations may have access to their fair share of resources.

Transitioning to more sustainable activities and lifestyles is our task. An especially valuable A-Z guide to simple steps to easily green your daily routine and make good eco-behavior into a habit may be found at www.unep.org/wed/A-Z/ .

Some other topics include food waste facts, harmful substances, resource efficiency, ecosystem management, disasters and conflicts, environmental governance, climate change, and ideas for how local actions can promote the goal of sustainable consumption that in turn can reshape our future.

Also of note, related to this topic, is a new book by U.N. Messenger of Peace, anthropologist/primatologist Jane Goodall. In her Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants (Grand Central, 384 pages) she shares her love of the botanical world, a different topic from her well-known study of chimpanzees (she's written more than 20 books for adults and children).

Without plants there would be no animals, no insects, fish, birds, mammals, no humans. They clean water, air and soil. And trees store CO2, thus slowing down global warming. Threats to plants include human population growth, destruction of habitats, modern agriculture, over-collection and climate change.

As she studies the plant kingdom she seeks to protect it, and as she shares her sense of wonder of the "Green Kingdom", she inspires others to love the natural world.

Note: This column appears as a regular feature in the monthly newsletter (Sept-May) of the United Churches of Lycoming County, PA, the 67 year-old ecumenical organization based in Williamsport PA. It may be seen at www.uclc.org .

Creation Corner: The Pope and the environment

 The Pope's propitious choice of a name: Francis

 

In his first address to the nearly 200 members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, the newly-elected Pope explained his name choice, Francis (of Assisi), by proclaiming a primary concern for the world's poor while others in the world greedily exploit nature for their own selfish values.

 

Saint Francis of Assisi is adopted by many ecologists as their patron saint.

 

Citing his predecessor Benedict's criticism of the "tyranny of relativism", whereby the co-existence of peoples takes second place to individualistic values, Pope Francis decried the material poverty that derives from such "spiritual poverty."  As peaceful co-existence is threatened by such personally proclaimed selfish rights, we should work for peace.

 

To create a more humane and just world, to work for peace, we need to care for the good of others, to build bridges connecting all people, especially promoting a dialog between one end of the world and another as we become more interdependent.  And such a dialog needs to occur among all the world's religions.

 

In sum, fighting poverty, both material and spiritual, building peace and constructing bridges are the reference points for the journey he wishes to invite us to join.  "But," as he concluded, "it is a difficult journey, if we do not learn to grow in love for this world of ours.  Here too, it helps me to think of Francis, who teaches a profound respect for the whole of creation and the protection of our environment, which all too often, instead of using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one another's detriment."

 

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-to-diplomatic-corps-church-fighting-p

 

This monthly "Creation Corner" column originally appears in the newsletter at www.uclc.org .

April Religious Environmental Stewardship Weeks

Earth Day Sunday 2013 and Soil and Water Stewardship 2013 Week

Two opportunities to employ a religious perspective on environmental issues this spring 2013 come from the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the Eco-Justice Program of the National Council of Churches (NCC).

For the NACD Soil and Water Stewardship Week of Sunday April 28 to Sunday May 5, the theme is "Where Does Your Water Shed?"  It is one of the world's largest conservation-related observances.  Outreach materials for churches include sermon starters, hymns and scriptures on the topic, and stewardship education materials suitable for all grade levels (guides, activity sheets, cd/power points, a poster, bookmarks, etc.).

See http://www.nacdnet.org/stewardship/2013 or contact your local county conservation district office. 

For the NCC Eco-Justice April Earth Day 2013 "Green Your Sunday Morning Routine" theme, see www.nccecojustice.org .  By looking at our ecological footprint (for example, as we turn on a light, take a shower, eat breakfast, etc.) and seeing what opportunities exist for change, we can become better caretakers of God's creation by reducing our environmental impact. 

The resource provides examples for individuals, churches and communities.  Sermon starters, a bulletin insert, prayer, a call to worship, etc., all raise up the Sunday Morning Sustainability theme, and separate denominational versions are available (Disciples of Christ, ELCA, PCUSA, RCA, UMC).

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Re: sustainability, also of note is the "Spring of Sustainability" sponsored by the Sustainable World Coalition, April 1 to June 14, a free series of events featuring interviews and panels with more than 50 global sustainability leaders, including Bill McKibben, Michael Brune, Hunter Lovins, Randy Hayes, Janine Benyus, and John Perkins.

Participants can connect via phone or web.  Register at no charge at www.springofsustainability.com .

Religion & Science; Climate; the Outdoors; Energy Justice

Religion & Science:  If you are seeking to know "that the most fundamental scientific truths in contemporary physics and biology are analogous to and fully compatible with the most profound spiritual truths in all the great religious traditions of the world", see Rebirth of the Sacred: Science, Religion and the New Environmental Ethos by Robert Nadeau (Oxford U.P.).  He posits a science/religion dialogue can serve as the basis of an environmental ethos, that, in turn, can give rise to a movement of religious environmentalism.

Climate:  "U.S. roasts in hottest year on record by landslide" was the recent local newspaper headline in a look-back at 2012.  "34,008" was the number of "new daily high temperature records set at weather stations in the U.S. in 2012" according to TIME magazine (Jan. 21, 2013, p. 9).

For an historical context of the strategies used by climate change deniers, see The Inquisition of Climate Science by James Lawrence Powell (Columbia U.P.).

To read why a politically conservative atmospheric scientist accepts the broad climate change science consensus on global warming, and how to distinguish human-caused change from normal atmospheric variation, see What We Know About Climate Change by Kerry Emanuel (MIT Press).

The Outdoors:  To understand something of which we have historically lost (a specific American landscape, the public garden cemetery), and how recovering its themes ("an ethic of communal care, with a sense of beauty and repose related directly to an acknowledgment of mortality and limitation") may help us re-think our approach to ecological crises, see Arcadian America: The Death and Life of an Environmental Tradition by Aaron Sachs (Yale U.P.).

As a post-script to an earlier column highlighting the benefit of nature-immersion, consider what Edith Cobb (1895-1977) proposed in her Ecology of Imagination in Childhood, that, after reviewing the biographies of 300 "geniuses", one common thread was present: intense experiences of the natural world in childhood.  Contact with nature spurs creativity.

And for the person seeking a greater dose of "vitamin G" (Green exercise) comes this recommended title: Outdoor Fitness: Step Out of the Gym into the Best Shape of Your Life by Tina Vindum.

Energy Justice: Finally, for a rather complete analysis of various issues (energy, environmental, corporate, educational, community, etc.) see www.energyjustice.net .

Earth-Honoring Faith; 4 Laws of Ecology; Quotations

Earth-Honoring Faith

Does your religious tradition honor God's creation?  How does your faith, translated into action, honor the earth?

That seems to be the question addressed by Larry Rasmussen, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in his Earth-Honoring Faith: Religious Ethics in a New Key (Oxford University Press, 2012), as described by Internet-sourced accounts of the new book.

The problems are well-known: "climate change, species extinction, the destruction of entire ecosystems, the urgent need for a more just economic order."  As we consider the natural elements of air, water, sunlight, fire and earth, what religious resources can we use to transition ourselves "from an industrial-technological age obsessed with consumption to an ecological age that restores wise stewardship of all life"?

Perhaps what is needed, from all faith traditions, is a common "spiritual and ecological ethic that accounts for the well-being of all creation."  Such practices as "mysticism, sacramentalism, prophetic practices, asceticism and the cultivation of wisdom" can "counter the consumerism, utilitarianism, alienation, oppression, and folly that have pushed us to the brink."

His effort is given rave reviews: "a tour-de-force"; "eloquent, comprehensive, and compelling"; "a vision that is sorely needed"; "interdisciplinary thinking at its best"; "his scholarship is impeccable"; "Rasmussen shows that a paradigm shift to an ecologically conscious civilization is possible."

Rasmussen writes, in the "Prelude" to his book: "This is a work in religious ethics.  Its burning questions are the questions of all ethics: How are we to live, and for what?  What makes lives, any lives and all lives, go 'round well?  What is good, right, and fitting?  And while this book, as any book, can do precious little by itself, it belongs to those questions."

Such questions are deserving of consideration in our congregations, sermons, Christian education classrooms, homes, communities, corporate suites and halls of government.

The Four Laws of Ecology (Barry Commoner 1917-2012)

Known to many general readers as the formulator of "The Four Laws of Ecology," Dr. Commoner died last year.  A cellular biologist and college professor, in 1970 TIME magazine featured him as "the Paul Revere of Ecology" in a cover story.  Some today regard him as the greatest environmentalist of the 20th century.  His books include The Closing Circle: Nature, Man and Technology (1971) and Making Peace With the Planet (1990).

The "Four Laws of Ecology," with various simple explanations given on different web sites, and which can be applied to ones daily life, are:

1. Everything Is Connected To Everything Else.  There is one ecosphere for all living organisms and what affects one, affects all.  Humans and other species are connected/dependent on other species.  With this in mind it becomes hard to practice anything other than compassion and harmlessness.

2.  Everything Must Go Somewhere.  There is no "waste" in nature, and there is no "away" to which things can be thrown.  Everything, such as wood smoke, nuclear waste, carbon emissions, etc.,  must go somewhere.

3.  Nature Knows Best.  Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but such change in a natural system is, says Commoner, "likely to be detrimental to that system."  The Creation, one can argue, has an intelligence, and to tinker with that "unintellectually" we get global warming pollution, etc.

4.  There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.  Exploitation of nature will inevitably involve the conversion of resources from useful to useless forms.  In nature, both sides of the equation must balance, for every gain there is a cost, and all debts are eventually paid.

Among Commoner's achievements are these two:

a.  As a central figure in the mid-20th century anti-nuclear testing movement, he issued warnings about radioactive fallout (based on an analysis of children's baby teeth) that helped lead to a 1963 nuclear test ban treaty that phased out atmospheric testing.

b.  He broadened his ecological message by becoming a politician, running as the the USA Presidential candidate on the 1980 Citizens Party ticket.  His running mate was LaDonna Harris, the Native-American wife of Fred Harris, former Democratic Senator from Oklahoma.

Quotations for Inspiration in 2013

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, (s)he finds it attached to the rest of the world.  John Muir

I go to nature to be soothed and healed , and to have my senses put in order.  John Burroughs

The love for all living creatures is the noblest attribute of (humanity).  Charles Darwin

Note: This is an expanded version of the January 2013 column that appeared in the monthly newsletter of the United Churches of Lycoming County, Williamsport PA (www.uclc.org) .

12/12 Creation Corner, Nature: What's It Good For?

Creation Corner Column for December 2012

Nature: What’s It Good For?

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”  Genesis 1:31

The science of wellness is showing us what we know intuitively: that getting “outdoors”, taking the first step outside, is good for us.  This awareness of nature’s importance to human health is the subject of Your Brain on Nature: The Science of Nature’s Influence on Your Health, Happiness, and Vitality, by Eva M. Selhub, MD and Alan C. Logan, ND (Wiley, paperback, 2012).

Many of us experience much time “indoors”, our being “digitally distracted” by looking at one screen or another (computers, televisions, checking e-mail, cell phone text messages, using smart phones, tablets, Kindles, I-pads, playing indoor video games, etc.).  This can become an overload of streams of technological data, and increasingly too many of us experience mood disorders (stress, anxiety, depression, attention-distractions, hyper-activity), inertia, addictions, immune and sleep issues, cognitive deficiency, creativity lapses, “brain fade” and “senior moments”, etc.  A malaise seems to accompany our life in urban civilization.

Such “videophilia” leads to people becoming “denatured”, removed from nature and withdrawn into an inside world.  It is nature deprivation.  Richard Louv has spoken of this in his work as “nature-deficit disorder”.  Some warn that nature-withdrawal can lead to a “less empathic view of nature”, and that one cannot be “green” without a meaningful exposure to nature.  Videophilia competes with “biophilia”, the latter, as hypothesized by Edward O. Wilson, being an inherently human preference, emotional affiliation and contact with nature.

Many studies illustrate the benefits of immersing our five human senses in nature.  This is variously called nature exposure, eco-therapy, forest-walk therapy, light-therapy, nature-based recreation, the slow-nature movement---all representing the healing power of nature.

Some of the “nature cures”, footnoted at www.yourbrainonnature.com , that improve our mind and body, include lower blood pressure and heart rate; feeling more relaxed; enhanced attention, memory and creativity; more positive thoughts and less hostility; boosts to white and red blood cell counts; a decrease in blood cholesterol, improved production of some immune functions; less mental fatigue (“fog”); an improved sleep-wake cycle; vitamin D and calcium absorption; improved performance on cognitive tests; less impatience and irritability, etc.

This all makes sense biblically.  We were created in a natural environment, and we physiologically adapted to it.  Unless we have lost our way, our everyday rhythms are attuned to those of the environment.

So a prescription for what ails some of us can be as small as stepping outside our door for a five-minute “dosage” of activity.  Park the car far from the store entrance.  Visit a park. Walk under trees.  Seek a quiet, natural place, preferably near water.  If you vacation, go to a natural area, not a city.  Do gardening.  Lie on the grass.  Sit near a window and watch the clouds.  It’s free medicine!  Walking-therapy!!  Nature nurtures us!!!  God’s creation is indeed very good for us.

Note: My interest in this subject stemmed from an article in Outside Magazine by Florence Williams  in the December 2012 issue, “The Nature Cure: Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and Call Me in the Morning”  (www.outsideonline.com).