Why the Environmental Movement may be It's Own Worse Nightmare

I do admit, that I support and believe the work in which environmentalists are doing is important and has the possibility to change the world for the better. However I see some inherent flaws in their approaches. Below you will see the problems I have with the current Environmental Movement as we have it today. I know this will not sit well with some people, and I know I am not alone with thinking these things.

The Problems as I see Them...
1. Excessive use of Science - This may be the biggest problem, the use of science is great for those who understand what it is being used to describe, but for many the science goes in one ear and out the other. It becomes too complex to comprehend. And attempts to reduce the information fails at conveying the information thoroughly and accurately. Or we read conflicting scientific arguments with vastly different numbers. The use of science ends up destroying the credibility in which the environmental movement hopes to gain and use to advance the case for preserving the earth.

2. Doomsday Approach -In Lester Brown's newest Plan B book, Plan B 3.0, he is pushing a sense of urgency in making changes to save the world. In this urgency, Brown compares to the United States following the attacks on Pear Harbor. He describes the rapid change the US went through in converting factories to further and advance the war efforts. This push was made possible due to a common enemy, with the environmental issue the enemy is ourselves. Also what is lacking from this doomsday approach is that of signs of our impending demise due to environmental destruction. Going back to Brown's push for urgent change, the devastation of the attacks on Pear Harbor were clearly visible. With concern with the environmental movement, our own impact is not as clear due to the twisting of science. Respiratory problems are explained away, SMOG is visible for a majority of large cities, but it would be an inconvenience to change our ways, and plus all the cool cars, those advertised heavily and viewed by pop-culture as the best, are the ones which pollute the most, in many cases.

3. We need a sign - As mentioned before the results of the attack on Pear Harbor were clear, the attacks on the environment are long term and lasting effects. For years scientist have been predicting that the increase in Global Warming would lead to an increase in stronger and frequent hurricanes. Yet following Hurricane Katrina and the other hurricanes of the summer of 2005, little to nothing was said about the connection between Global Warming and the strength of these storms. This has to do, I feel, to dealing with the great tragedy these storms were.

4. we are our own worse enemy - One of the main problems facing the Environmental movement is that we are our own worse enemy. This is contrasted again with Brown's call to World War II mobilization, at that point there was an enemy and they were easily identified. But now the enemy we face is ourselves. It is our own inability to change our destructive ways. It is also our unwillingness to change these ways which will ultimately hurt the most. The things that will help us to realize we need to change are occurring all around us, but we have explained these signs away or allowed them to be contradicted and then forgotten, or the science has gotten in the way and we have become confused or heard too much of the science and have become apathetic to the problem.

Another area in which we have become our own enemy is by making being Green trendy. It has all of a sudden become cool to be green. Just like during the late '80's and early '90's, when it was cool to wear MC Hammer style parachute pants. Being green has become marketable, and fashionable but in the end it is still a trend, and sadly trends pass. The making of the environmental movement trendy has brought a lot of attention to global warming, our use of coal and petroleum based products, but sadly it has done little in changing out habits or pushing government to require higher fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles as well as change habits that will positively impact the planet. My fear in making the environmental movement trendy is that the message will be lost or reduced.

In my efforts to summarize the short comings of the environmental movement I am sure I overly simplified these ideas, forgotten some, and/or overstated these things I see. For more information about this topic please read Death of Environmentalism. It is the manifesto of two guys seeking to change the way the environmental movement is headed and possibly move it to a place where more can be gained and solutions can be found. As for me, I do not have any sure where to go from here. I have ideas floating in my head but I have yet to flesh them out into some sort of coherent idea from the Christian perspective as well as from personal response.

It's Not Easy Being Green

With this week being reading week at school, and being a procrastinator, I was reading Lester Brown's book Plan B 3.0. This is a wonderful book for those wanting information about the situation that our environment is in, what are some of the contributing factors are.

This book has gotten me thinking about how much of an impact I am making on this earth. This book also has convicted me of things in which I use to do but no longer due. I am going to challenge myself to do my part in limiting my impact on the earth... So here are a few things I am going to do (I already do a fair amount; recycle, turn lights off, use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, drive a fuel efficient vehicle, etc.)

1. Live lower on the food chain - Plan B points out how much energy and resources are needed in feeding, watering, adding weight to cows, then slaughtering, packaging and transporting the meat to the market. So lowering ourselves on the food chain, helps lessen your impact.

2. Drive less - I live in a wonderful location in Atlanta. I live less then two miles from the seminary, a few blocks away from a grocery store, and even a shorter distance from a Farmers Market. So it is possible for me to drive less. Driving less does more then help the environment, it goes a long way in benefiting my own person well being.

3. Use less water - pretty obvious way to save money, but it also goes a long way in adding water that is added to the swearers and becomes waste water in which it may contaminated and useless for human consumption.

So here we go, lets see how this goes.

Being Enchanted Again

Yesterday I was blessed to hear a wonderful speaker talking about becoming enchanted again with God. And these ideas have been rolling around in my head for most of the past two days, which is not a great thing when you have classes you need to be paying attention in. The speaker opened with a story I will share below from a C.S. Lewis book.

This idea of being enchanted by God, has stirred something deep within me. It may have just been that I now have more words to express what I see and feel and hope for the church. OR it may have also ignited something deep with in and brought it to a full fire in my heart. This might be an interesting reflection... since I do not know where it is going or where I want it to go.

I remember as a child, being outdoors and being totally awestruck and amazed at the Rocky Mountains, the snow, the changing of the seasons, the workings of the human body, the list could go on and on. And as I grew and took science classes I was shown why things happened in the universe. Yes I did enjoy science and all these things that brought wonder to my young mind enriched my time in science classes. It also has diminished the awe that I was able to see. When I saw the snow falling, I know that snow is a form of precipitation of falling crystalline water ice. Or how the Rocky Mountains were formed. All of these things I found wonder in as a child were explained in simple, rational and scientific ways.

I remember one of the first times I went backpacking in Colorado, I was standing on the top of Cannibal Plateau. It was around sunrise, and you could see for miles. I was blown away at how small I felt. I was also amazed that God spoke and made all of this. I was awestruck! It was wonderful.

In C.S. Lewis' classic series The Chronicles of Narnia there is a scene in the Prince Caspian book. The young Prince Caspian was told of the days of old Narnia, which had fallen silent. The young Prince began talking with his uncle the King and retelling these wonderful stories. His uncle responded by saying this... "'stop that noise,' said his uncle, taking Caspian by the shoulders and giving him a shake. 'Stop it, And never let me catch you talking - or - thinking either - about all those silly stories again."

I have seen the modern world attempt to explain everything, never being fully comfortable with the idea of mystery. And the church has gone along with this movement. We as a church have attempted to explain everything in simple answers for all to understand. But when it comes to mystery we have ignored it or have said, "stop that noise, stop talking or thinking about those silly stories."

I feel this has done a great disservice to us all. We have allowed rationalism to rule, not God. When we do this I feel that we stifle the spirit, we reason away or attempt to explain all that God is doing, and we do not just stand back in awe. Do not get me wrong, Science and reason are wonderful and for me are sparked by the experience of wonder and awe. Science and Reason have their place in our world, an important place. But we also need to step back from time to time and just be in awe. Be enchanted by what God has done, is doing and will do. Find time to be in awe and spend time in the wonderful.

A Greener Church

What role dose the church play in caring for the earth? Should the church care about global warming?

For all of my life I have loved the outdoors. I have loved hiking, backpacking, cycling, fly fishing, and just spending time outside. I have enjoyed the outdoors so much that it impacted my selection of a major, Environmental Studies, and Minor, Outdoor Recreation, in college. It even impacted my first steps into ministry. I spent two summers in college working as a backpacking guide at Christian camp in southern Colorado. For me God's creation has played an important role in my life of faith. But I have always struggled with how I could connect faith and environmental preservation...

While serving a church as their youth director, members of the church, being moved by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth began an environmental ministry team. Though I was never sure what their main goal was, I did see that they were working diligently towards something.

Upon entering Seminary this fall, I enrolled into an Ecology class. This class, I had hoped, would among many things re-ignite my passion for the care of the environment, as well as help me connect what I knew about the science and study of the environment, and the language of faith. Though I am still struggling with finding the language of faith, I have been convicted that we as humans play a special role in all of creation. We have the ability to use, abuse, and destroy what God created, with the mentality that in the end we will be boarding a life boat in the sky piloted by Jesus and off we will go to Heaven, leaving the earth and all the problems we have created behind. But I have come to find that this notion is not biblically accurate. The earth plays a special role in the end of time, according to John's Revelation. There is no mention of humanity leaving the earth behind, but that the earth will be renewed and heaven and earth will be one. We even pray that life on earth will be as like life in heaven, "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

So I do feel strongly that the church, and Christians, should be working to protect the environment. We are called to be stewards of what God has given us, and the earth is included in what God has given us.

As part of this I am taking about Ecology, I am working on a project about what churches can do to be more environmentally friendly. As I do more thinking and researching I will be posting things that churches can do.

Here is the first thing churches can do, and I am sure many already do. This is nothing new I think I learned about this when I was in elementary school... RECYCLE!!!! Recycling does so much to lessen the amount of garbage going into land fills. It also helps us to not have to keep taking from the earth the resources we need. Also buy recycled goods, yes they may cost more in the financial since, but they are so much better on this earth we have been given!