It is not a
problem to visit spectacular nature destinations. Take for example the Himalayas. A web search or two with a credit card handy,
a few ticket purchases, several flights, some ground transportation, and viola!
you are following the lead of your Tibetan hiking guide.
It's even
easier of course to get to the Rockies, the far North, or to some of the stunning
destinations on Canada's East Coast. And
when we get home, we can enjoy the sense of renewed appreciation we have for
this astounding blue planet on which we live.
We might even congratulate ourselves on having a stronger understanding
of the need for environmental stewardship.
Nowadays,
however, it is harder to be in contact with nature without feeling guilt. That very trip we take to see, let's say the shores of
Georgian Bay in Ontario, is one of the reasons our planet is in trouble.
We love travel
but lacking the technology that powers the USS Enterprise's transporter, we are
stuck with the primitive carbon emitting internal combustion engine. We all probably do care to keep the Great
Lakes healthy, and we all probably would like it if the 46,000 glaciers in the
Himalayas were to remain in place through this century. However, it is our very energy-intensive
travel habits that, among other things, are spelling doom for these and of
course, many other, natural wonders.
Let's consider
those thousands of glaciers of Tibet for a moment. They are the source of Asia's six largest
rivers that bring water to 1.3 billion people.
No glaciers, no rivers.
And here is the
crux of the problem for those one billion and more people. According to the Tibet Nature Environmental Conversation Network the glaciers are
receding at a rate of 7% per year as a result of Climate Change.
It's no wonder
that few of us like to think about Global Warming because the reality is
frightening. Along with this the thought
of doing very much to stop the earth's atmosphere from heating up is also
daunting. We hope that by some miracle –
by some combination of the rapid cessation of the use fossil fuels and the
rapid increase in the development of clean energy – we will wake up a few
decades from now to discover that fresh water still flows in Tibet and the
Great Lakes are still home to fish and plant life.
We human beings
are called, I believe, to environmental stewardship. We are asked to consider that the world is
created by a caring God, and that human beings are called into relationship
with our environment. The environment
does not exist mainly for the profit of multi-national corporations. It is not ours to do with as we want. Our role is to care for, and, if necessary,
to restore our environments. We are
tenants, not owners.
The opening
pages of the Bible reveal a God who gives order to the creation, allowing it to
be our home. Those pages offer a
narrative that, even though it may be partly or completely symbolic,
nevertheless delivers a literal and hopeful truth - that we live in a creation
that offers us what we need and more.
Our own record
of caring for our home may be poor. Aboriginal
groups tend to slash and burn. Modern
industry pillages and toxifies.
But still we
are called upon to renew our care for the world. Development must be done cautiously and with
prayer. We ought to manage our
environments not with the goal of providing ourselves with endless
enjoyments. Instead our aim must be to
leave behind a planet that our children will find a welcome home.
For more
on faith and environmental stewardship one good resource is A Rocha Canada at https://www.arocha.ca/.
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