Reverence for the Planet
Some time in the 1970s, Bishop Hugh Montefiore produced a book called The Question Mark – the End of Homo Sapiens? Now, over 30 years later (and perhaps too late) the world is waking up to the message of that book, in which climate change and the exhaustion of the world’s natural resources were foreseen as the precursors of the extinction of the human race. At long last the arguments in that book have been accepted by the vast majority of the world’s thinkers and leaders.
The selfishness of the rich who were prepared to ignore the problem because they thought it wouldn’t affect them is just beginning to fade but nothing like fast enough. There have been stupid Christians who said man had been ordered by God to subdue the earth rather than to treasure it. There are also vast numbers of people who imagine that there is simply nothing they can do about it.
I remember in World War 2 that amazing experience of knowing that everyone was doing their bit to save the country from defeat. I don’t know why it’s so different today when the stakes are even higher. There were just a few people then who wanted simply to give in, thinking that Hitler and co were just invincible so that there was nothing any of us could do about it. Unfortunately the pessimists and head-in-the-sand people to-day are far more numerous.
I have a dream and in it every household has a garden of modest size and there are no organised collections of rubbish from outside our homes. Every waste product we produce has to be dealt with by ourselves, We could burn, we could compost or we could bury it. Our personal landfill site would of course have to become a pretty dominant feature of the garden. Surely we would do our utmost to keep the use of it to a minimum.
Luckily we do have some well organised re-cycling available; so the situation is not as dire as my dream one. I’m still shocked however at the number and size of the black plastic sacks put out each week to be despatched mostly to some landfill site.
I want people to love their gardens and the greater garden which is our planet. We may still not be able to save it from destruction but it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
-Peter Graham
He may have been ahead of his time, but I’m not sure about Bishop Monty being the great discoverer of the problem (but Church-centricity is the order of my Papa’s way) – I believe that the known facts at the time (and today) were a little bit more due to scientists – those who sought evidence and facts to support theories and ideas – many of whom would lay the blame for ignoring the earth’s needs squarely at the doors of the organised churches.
One of the main reasons we live in an anti-science culture is the powers that be behind the belief that we don’t have to concern ourselves because “God will provide”, just one of many precious blindnesses among the “stupid Christians” – who in my view, historically and to this day, constitute a majority, not a minority, of that sect.
It would be lazy not to comment now I’m here. Pa & Bro agree – with v different emphases – that Christians are among the blame-worthy. I imagine you would emphasise the whole church Institutional structure, Pat?
It seems to me that materialism and nationalism are central. Most citizens share an element of the responsibility for materialism & the political mantra of expanding national economic growth…They/We have to change.
…The failure to prioritise International Goals for Earth’s survival over anticipated national economic disadvantages..has conditioned many of the responses to anti-Climate Change policies. Priorities must change – national politicians have to be convinced by their electors (OK & Yes they could show leadership!)
Scientific Evidence has clearly been hugely helpful. Selfish & supine individuals help create selfish and conservative politicians.