Although it is still three weeks until Mother’s Day, I am writing today about taking care of Mother Earth.
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, so it is a
fitting time to think about taking care
of our planet.
The First Earth Day
Earth Day was first observed on April 22, 1970. Do you old-timers remember that
important event that celebrates its 50th birthday this week?
To be honest, I don’t remember that day. I was living and teaching in
Japan at that time, struggling at the beginning of a new semester to teach
Christian Studies in Japanese to hundreds of university students. And at home,
June was in the third trimester of her pregnancy with our third child.
Actually, though, for the first 20 years, Earth Day was mainly an event
celebrated in the U.S. and did not become international until 1990. But those
early years were important for the environmental movement in the U.S.
Gaylord Nelson, the Democratic Senator from Wisconsin, was the founder of
Earth Day. In 1995, Nelson (1916~2005) was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his environmental work.
In its beginning, Earth Day was bipartisan in its support and
appeal. The co-chair who served with Sen. Nelson was Pete McCloskey, who was at
the time a Republican U.S. Representative from California.
One of the ongoing effects of that first Earth Day was
the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). President Nixon
proposed the establishment of the EPA in July 1970 and it began operation in
December of that year after he signed an executive order.
The Clean Air Act of 1963 came under the aegis of the EPA, and then the
Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 were signed into
law by President Nixon.
Yes, taking care of Mother Earth used to be a bipartisan concern.
Earth Day Now
There are extensive plans for the celebration of Earth Day 2020, and I
encourage you to check out the website (here) for this year’s events,
which they say will be “the largest secular observance in the world, marked by
more than a billion people.”
Enthusiastic observance of Earth Day in the U.S. is especially important
now, for the Trump Administration has rolled back many of the
programs/activities that started 50 years ago.
Ten
days ago, PBS posted “During the Coronavirus Crisis, the Trump
Administration’s Environmental Rollbacks Continue.” And it has already been two
and a half years since PBS aired “War on the EPA”
on their 10/11/17 Frontline presentation.
Much of that war on the EPA, as documented in the PBS program, was led by
Scott Pruitt, DJT’s first appointed head of the Agency. Pruitt, a conservative
Southern Baptist from Oklahoma, served as head of the EPA from February 2017 to
July 2018.
It was no surprise to learn (from
this 3/27/18 CBN article) that Pruitt was “one of President Donald Trump's Cabinet
members who sponsors and attends a weekly Cabinet Bible study led by Ralph
Drollinger, president and founder of Capitol Ministries.”
(If you missed reading my previous
blog post about Drollinger, check
it out here.)
Things did not improve much when Andrew
Wheeler became head of the EPA in February of last year. He previously worked in the law firm that represented a coal
magnate and lobbied against the Obama Administration's environmental
regulations.
Yes, much needs to be done to take care of Mother Earth—not only
because of what is being undone now but also because of the many necessary
things that have not yet been done.
And don’t forget, as I quoted at the beginning of the only
other blog post I made about Earth Day (here,
seven years ago), “The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the
world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1, KJV).
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Response has been slow on this Monday morning, but I was happy to receive this brief comment from Thinking Friend Glenn Hinson in Kentucky:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for an informative blog, Leroy. Our planet is in grave danger from this administration."
Thanks, Dr. Hinson. And while I definitely agree that our planet is in grave danger from this administration, I am afraid that those who support this administration are the ones least likely to take Earth Day seriously.
DeleteBob Leeper, another local Thinking Friend, sent an email that included the following comments:
ReplyDelete"Leroy: Thanks for your thought-FULL observations. We do recall exactly some events related to the original EARTH DAY. . . . I recall our family went up to the main highway and cleaned up the center grassway of trash. My certain memory that the preponderance of trash was cigarette butts. Then my kids may recall we were loaned a convertible from a friend and went out to another location and picked up recyclables and trash. A day in the far recesses of my brain; perhaps the kids’ too."
This morning another Bob, Thinking Friend Bob Southard, who is the owner of Unique Finds, made these significant comments:
ReplyDelete"I’m into 'creation care'! The only good I can see so far that might have come out of the coronavirus pandemic is that it has given mother earth a rest from the stress that airplanes and cars and factories have put on her. Maybe this is a year of jubilee (Jewish/Christian concept) for the earth and the people on it to get a rest.
"To truly take care of what in my mind is God’s creation, we have to find peace with justice and to find that we have to find love in our hearts instead of selfishness/ego preservation. Finding the common good, letting love ripple out is what will save the world. For all of us to awaken our conscience, educate ourselves on solutions and go the second mile...these will make the difference.
"Do something good and kind this Earth Day and every day for the earth and the people on it.
"PS Fair Trade, sustainable, recycle shopping all fit in there...I’m just sayin’!"
Bob, I appreciate your comments -- and I am happy to post the following information from your Unique Finds website:
Delete"Unique Finds helps local and global artisans!
"We bring you one-of-a-kind handmade items from communities of faith from around the world, local artisans, and those donating items to help support organizations or causes in need of financial help.
"We offer varied goods from different cultures and local artisans, who bring their wares to our store front. Many of our products have stories to tell. We have shawls hand-loomed by women from the remote region of Manipur, India; hand painted and metal works made by earthquake victims in Haiti; products made by Burmese refugees fleeing persecution in Thai Refugee Camps, fairly traded coffees and Fair Trade market crafts. The products and stories behind them help us work in a social entrepreneurial context allowing us to help others, while also giving back to our local community."
[posted earlier; corrected now]
ReplyDeleteAnd then this morning I received these substantial comments from local Thinking Friend Vern Barnet:
"Thank you for drawing attention to Earth Day and the accumulating disasters of the Trump administration. I do remember, participating with excitement, the first Earth Day, planting a tree in Chicago.
"Good arguments have been made that the Christian tradition -- with the Biblical notion of domination of nature -- is largely responsible for the desecration of the planet. I think it is more complicated than that -- as I say elsewhere -- 'Beginning with Plato, and developing with 1620 Francis Bacon’s "natura vexata" and 1637 Descartes’ dualism and mathematical paradigms, nature was severed from faith, nature objectified in categories, controlled, and used.'
"But in any case, we need to highlight the wisdom from Primal faiths, repeated here -- 'Nature is to be respected, more than controlled; it is a process which includes us, not a product external to us to be used or disposed of. Our proper attitude toward nature is awe, not utility.'"
Thanks, Vern, for your meaningful comments.
DeleteWhile it is certainly true that there is within the Christian tradition ideas that can be blamed for the desecration of the planet—and that fact has been widely circulated especially since Lynn White Jr.’s 1967 article on “The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis.” But there are many aspects of the Christian tradition, and the impetus to care for creation can be found in that tradition also; consider, for example, the emphases of Francis of Assisi. Further, as you know, there are multiple Christian denominations and organizations today who are actively advocating creation care. For example, just this morning I received a notification of the Mennonite Creation Care Network, which can be accessed at https://mailchi.mp/238abe098a5f/for-mccn-creation-care-liaisons-tips-and-tricks?e=a38af05479.
Also, while recognizing the importance of what you say about “the wisdom from Primal faiths,” I think it also has to be recognized that modern science—such as that which is now so vital in fighting against the covid-19 pandemic—could most likely never have developed on the basis of the worldview of those Primal faiths. Somehow, we humans need, in my opinion, to find the proper balance between awe and utility.
Science flourishes until it conflicts with the bottom line. Then, in industry after industry, we see a pattern of denial and resistance. It does not matter whether the industry is tobacco, sugar, opioids, oil, or automobiles; the industry in question goes to the Jerusalem solution: kill the prophets. Jesus wept, and I am sure He is weeping still. For in this cauldron of misinformation, we like sheep are lead astray.
ReplyDeleteEven when we seize on one piece of the problem, we tend to minimize other pieces of the puzzle. Who can see it all, who can even bear to see it all? I watched an interfaith online forum last week about faith and the environment. A question came up about population control in connection with environmental protection. It was an awkwardly worded question, with a hint of China's former one-child policy looming in the background. That hint was all they needed to deflect the question with the note that poor countries are not causing much of the global warming, so population growth was not a problem. Well, it is not nearly that simple. There are approximately 70 million refugees in the world today because of lack of food, water, jobs and housing. The poor need population control for their own sakes, not for the world's sake. The irony is that the solution, reproductive justice, would help both the poor and the world. Further, every time a Syrian refugee lands in Europe, or a Central American in USA, the population of an area that really does need to control its population for environmental reasons goes up. It is a great irony that the same people who scream against immigrants also rail against birth control and abortion. They should make up their minds, either there is over population, or there is not.
The trick is that what reproductive justice needs is not a government plan of population control, but rather a freeing of individuals, especially women, to practice family planning on their own. We know this works, because in advanced societies where women have that freedom the populations are slowing declining. USA is the exception that proves the rule, the native born population actually is declining. The only reason the total population is increasing is immigration. A society provided with equality, education, especially comprehensive sex education, and ready availability of a variety of birth control methods and abortion will stabilize. Since the population today is too high in most countries, it will go down. This is not a threat to survival, because as the population pressure eases, people will want more children. Now if this sounds like the old Planned Parenthood slogan, "Every child a wanted child," it is. The group I am familiar with that seems most concerned about this specific problem today is Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth). You can read about their take here:
https://www.populationconnection.org/
Thanks for your extensive comments about the problem of world population growth, Craig. That is, certainly, one of the significant factors in the current environmental problem on Mother Earth.
DeleteAt the time of the first Earth Day in 1970, the population of the world was about 3.7 billion people. Now the population is just under 7.8 billion, clearly more than double.
In the 1970s, I was far more interested in the population problem then in the environmental problem and remember the emphasis on "zero population growth," which obviously hasn't happened yet. I did not know that the old ZPG organization is now called Population Connection, so I appreciate getting the link to their website, which includes the following statement:
"Overpopulation threatens the quality of life for people everywhere. Population Connection is the national grassroots population organization that educates young people and advocates progressive action to stabilize world population at a level that can be sustained by earth’s resources."
The recent improvement of nature in just a matter of weeks with less human activity reinforces my long held view that the earth will survive, one way or the other; the question is how long humans will survive without paying attention to the concerns raised by Earth Day.
ReplyDeleteKeith, thanks for emphasizing an important point. Taking care of Mother Earth is not really for Mother Earth's sake; as you say, the earth will survive one way or another. Taking care of Mother Earth is, indeed, clearly for the sake of all of us who live on this planet.
DeleteThanks for this informative post Leroy. Here in Canada, Green Peace and the Green Party are strong advocates for the environment and Mother Earth. For those interested, you can do a search for their websites and see what they're up to.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, in one of theologian Jurgen Moltmann's books (I can't remember which one unfortunately) he spoke of Germans celebrating an environmental sabbath on the autobahn-e.g. having picnics. I can't remember whether this actually happened or if it was his suggestion.
I think one of the positive consequences of the coronavirus, as suggested by another comment herein is a kind of involuntary environmental sabbath. For example, some have noted that in the world's larger cities there is less air pollution.
Perhaps another consequence of COVID-19 will be more environmentally friendly jobs, and a more thoughtful, conscious stewardship of creation.
Thanks, Canadian friend--and I don't want to use your moniker as I certainly don't think your "lamp" is that "dim" at all.
ReplyDeleteI ardently hope that what you wrote in your final sentence will turn out to be true, but I am not at all optimistic that it will prove to be so. There will, probably, be some small moves in that direction, but I am afraid that especially in the U.S.--perhaps much less so in Canada--there will be mostly a return to rampant capitalism seeking financial profits at all costs.
Here are comments received a few minutes ago from Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago:
ReplyDelete"Thanks, Leroy, for reminding us about Earth Day. There are many ecological problems faced by Mother Earth. One of them is the enormous amounts of trash we generate. Much of this trash is junk mail and packaging. Judy and I compost vegetable matter, but we still generate too much packaging waste, some of which can be recycled. Our trash bins (six bins serving eight units in two buildings) are often overflowing by the time of the weekly pickup. This feeds the rat population here in Chicago and the rats, of course, lead to other problems."
And here are comments from Thinking Friend Frank Shope in New Mexico:
ReplyDelete"Since I am so young (Ha!) I remember being in high school during the first celebration. Little attention was paid to activities and most of my family and friends were apathetic. The desert is sand and weeds they would complain. However, the university and elementary schools planted trees. It feels like such a short time ago!
"Like most cities Albuquerque has attempted to keep the city and state clean and take care of our earth. It is a mixed bag, lots of good things and nice places have developed.
"As Christians I wish we would take greater interest and participate in Earth Day activities. Even preach a sermon or two about taking care of or 'Mother Earth' would be a good step in the right direction."