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The old button from the Environmental Club days which I just happened to find on Earth Day! It is a little beat up (particularly the ends of the ribbon), but no worse for the wear, I think. And it is one of the few items that I have left from those days, so it carries a lot of great memories for me! Nothing Changes Until You Do!
Here is a picture of a very similar logo, with the same message, that was on the t-shirt that I purchased from the BCC Environmental Club and, if memory serves me correctly, may even have helped to make. There were a few projects like that which club members, myself included, were regularly involved with. It has been so long, however, that I no longer recall specifically if I actually helped to make these or not, although I do believe so, since I remember seeing the process of the t-shirts being dyed. In any case, I loved this t-shirt, and have kept it ever since, even if I do not regularly wear it. Since it was part of my experience with the BCC Environmental Club days, as well as more generally having an environmental theme, it seemed appropriate to share it here.
"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's gred."
~Mahatma Gandhi
"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
~John F. Kennedy
Okay, so yes, we are well past Earth Day and Earth Day Week, or Earth Week now, where I devoted at least one blog entry a day with some theme related to environmentalism, for lack of a better term, on some level or another.
However, these issues do not simply go away just because Earth Day is done.
So, even though it is now the next month, I wanted to continue to discuss issues concerning the health of this planet, since it is so important, so crucial. Perhaps some out there try to undermine the importance, and it saddens me to see so many reminders of the blatant disrespect that so many people have towards the Earth. Every time that I traverse along local roadways, there is endless litter lining the sides of the roads. Just this past weekend, my brother and my son and I went to play basketball on a beautiful day. But my spirits sank quite a bit when I saw several plastic bottles and cans littered on the ground, with many of them being within twenty feet of a recycling collection station.
I suspect that this is some form of rebellion, although it is a stupid and mindless one. Seems to me that we in the United States in particular have a fondness for the idea of "the rebel," and the more indifferent you seem to be about any given thing, the more acceptable, or even "cool," you appear.
Now, I will admit that this level of indifference has always been a bit perplexing and, frankly, alarming. Far from being rebellious with a measure of intelligence, this is what passes for rebelliousness in a land that has been completely taken over by excess greed and fear of the "other." This kind of mindless, shallow rebellion is very convenient for those who's only interest is watching out for number one, and it perhaps goes some way towards clarifying how our nation's situation has grown so dire, and why there seems to be this overall sense of a decline and decadence.
The indifference towards what are clearly real problems has not, of course, been limited to Americans, even if it seems far more pronounced here. In fact, many prominent figures around the world seem to take issues regarding the poisoning of our planet in stride, as if somehow they are immune from both responsibility and consequences.
There have been some refreshing exceptions lately, and perhaps none more famous, or with a wider audience, than Pope Francis. Yes, he is back in the news, and he recently warned the rich that they have to do whatever is in their power to do to protect the planet, or suffer God's wrath for failing to do so. He argues that climate change is man-made, and suggested that a Christian who does not respect the planet is a Christian who has inadequate respect for the wonders and work of God. Seems pretty obvious, yet there are a lot of people out there who identify themselves as Christians, yet seem surprisingly indifferent to the plight of the planet that we humans have inhabited. It should be noted (an obvious point, really), that the only planet that we have ever lived on is this one, and so it should be equally obvious that we should do everything in our power to keep it healthy, although this is far from the case.
Pope Francis has mentioned all of this, and he revisited some of these points recently. Specifically, he was talking about the abundance of food on this planet, with the paradox of widespread hunger evident around the world.
Here, in part, is what he had to say about it:
“The planet has enough food for all, but it seems that there is a lack of willingness to share it with everyone. We must do what we can so that everyone has something to eat, but we must also remind the powerful of the earth that God will call them to judgement one day and there it will be revealed if they really tried to provide food for Him in every person and if they did what they could to preserve the environment so that it could produce this food.”
Pope Francis summed this all up in an earlier address, suggesting that our ever-devouring global economic system is self-destructive, and that an “economic system centred on the god of money needs to plunder nature to sustain the frenetic rhythm of consumption that is inherent to it.”
It is encouraging to see Pope Francis addressing the issue of climate change, and environmental issues as a whole, with a degree not just of seriousness, but of urgency, which it deserves. An even more encouraging sign is that he is not the only church official doing so.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, a senior Vatican official, has also issued strong statements on environmental issues - particularly global warming. He suggested that we are burning through fossil fuels on an "almost unfathomable scale" and that a lot of work needs to be done to convince people if global warming is to be kept in check.
Using Biblical references, Turkson went on, saying:
“In our recklessness, we are traversing some of the planet’s most fundamental natural boundaries. And the lesson from the Garden of Eden still rings true today: pride, hubris, self-centredness are always perilous, indeed destructive. The very technology that has brought great reward is now poised to bring great ruin.”
Fortunately, it is not just from the Vatican where we see world leaders seriously discussing global warming/climate change, and environmental matters is general. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also discussed these issues:
“[The encyclical] will convey to the world that protecting our environment is an urgent moral imperative and a sacred duty for all people of faith and people of conscience,” Ban said.
“Science and religion are not at odds on climate change. Indeed, they are fully aligned. Together, we must clearly communicate that the science of climate change is deep, sound and not in doubt,” Ban said.
Encouraging signs.
But, as Turkson suggested, we still have a lot of work to do. Incredible as it might seem, there truly are a staggering amount of people out there who simply do not believe the assessment by the vast majority of the world's scientific community that climate change/global warming is not only real, but likely caused by human activity. A lot of people out there probably do not want to believe, because it is too painful to believe. Or, perhaps they believe the unstated myth that we human beings are somehow exempt from the rules that apply to nature (that is to say, all life on this planet). They apparently believe that we can keep doing everything that we have been doing, not only not recognizing any limits, but increasing our efforts to rape the Earth of her precious resources while poisoning the land, air, and water, and that, somehow, we will continue to avoid the enormous consequences and repercussions from these activities.
Clearly, we are not exempt from the laws that govern all of life on this planet. We need trees in order to breath. We need other animals to sustain the system of life on this planet, which we are, always have been, and hopefully, always will be a part of. In order for that to happen, the focus probably needs to shift from unchecked growth (which still, amazingly enough, is considered a good thing) to sustainability.
It requires serious perspective and, yes, a certain measure of wisdom. Let us see if we are up to the task, collectively.
It's Official: Global Carbon Levels Surpassed 400 ppm for Entire Month by Sarah Lazare, staff writer, May 6, 2015:
Quote from the Pope used above was taken from this article:
Pope Francis Warns The Rich And Powerful To Protect The Planet Or Suffer God’s Wrath AUTHOR: STEPHEN D FOSTER JR, MAY 12, 2015:
A powerful voice takes a powerful stand on climate change Wednesday, May 6, 2015 | Posted by Jim Hightower
Most of the quotes used in this article were taken from the following article:
Vatican official calls for moral awakening on global warming by Stephanie Kirchgaessner, 28 April 2015.
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