A comment to my post on Elmo caused me to consider the “heart” of environmentalism.  I am by no means an expert on the topic, but for me, as a follower of Christ, my heart for the environment begins with an understanding of where creation fits in God’s greater plan of redemption.   

 

A while back I was given the chance to publish an article online at Flourish responding to Wendell Berry’s great work “The Gift of Good Land.”  Looking back, I think it really sets forth my thinking in this area:

 

“The Gift of Good Land,” was published 30 years ago, and we reprinted it in the Fall 2009 issue of Flourish Magazine to celebrate Mr. Berry’s work, but also to provoke some questions: How has the natural world, and efforts to steward it, changed in these 30 years? How has Christianity changed? What is still relevant about Mr. Berry’s words today? What have been our successes and failures as creation’s stewards in these three decades? Where do we go from here?

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This is just becoming all too familiar. The first reports, the death toll climbing every half-hour or so, the news of those who survived, grieving for those who did not. I first learned about the earthquake today in Chile from Twitter - from Alyssa Milano on Twitter, in fact, retweeting photo images from the New York Times. I jumped on Facebook and learned that several friends of mine have relatives in Chile; thankfully, all reports are good news so far.

As I continued combing through news reports, I discovered that there was also an earthquake in Japan this morning. Then I heard further news - the warning of an impending tsunami. I have just been looking at the images on the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center web site, and I see nations and cities along the Pacific coast that are now at risk: Japan, Hawaii, New Zealand, Tonga and many other place.

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There are many followers of Christ in this world who don't think much, if at all, about the connection between their food choices and their theology.  For many of these, there's a good chance they'll be eating a big slab of meat tonight, cooked over a fire, complemented by a pesticide laced salad, enhanced by an Italian Red, and washed down with coffee that was utterly affordable thanks to the rainforest that was cleared to increase the crop size.  None of these foods are seen as making a statement about their faith, but I'd argue that they do.  If I thought it was all going to burn up, especially in the near term (as I've been told it will, any day now, for the past 35 years), I'd join them in buying the most food for the least money.

Instead, I'll be having a slab of meat, a salad, red wine, and coffee, just like them, except utterly different. My meat will be grass fed, my salad organic and local, my wine from a local winery, and my coffee shade grown.  That is, at least, what I'll be eating when my food choices match my theology.  Believing that God's people are called to make God's good reign visible here and now in some small measure means that I need to make choices that exalt health, justice, and ecology (among other things) in all areas of my life, including "what's for dinner?"

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While the brave team from the "GIVE A DAMN" movie were surviving a plane crash, I was vacationing with my family in Australia.  We went to see (and snorkle) the Great Barrier Reef (while it is still around!).  So instead of posting at Conversant, I'd basically "gone fishin'" for the summer.

I had no idea how substantial a catch awaited us. This photo of me snorkeling with a Hump Head Maori Wrasse hasn’t been altered in any way. Yes, the fish really do grow that big on the Great Barrier Reef. Yes, their colors really are that vibrant. While I look like a stuffed sausage in my swimshirt, the wrasse lopes along with such presence.

According to the marine biologist on board our boat, this gentle wrasse is about 40 or 50 years old and STILL GROWING. When my kids spotted it, they choose to swim the other way! This is just one of the amazing sights we encountered Down Under. 

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We're in the midst of trying overhaul the health care system of our country, and debates are flying across cyberspace about taxation, socialized medicine, and the dangers of rationed health care. Did you know the roughly 60% of home foreclosures have their roots in a family health crisis? One major surgery can wipe out a lifetime of savings which, in a country where the primary means of independence in one's senior years comes from taking of yourself by saving for the future, is no small matter. These are just some of the reasons that the subject is important. Entrenched special interests are the reason this isn't easy.

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On occasion, I've asserted that churches should have the most environmentally friendly facilities in the world! The pushback that I get at times is that it is too costly and would take money away from reaching people.

These frequently vioced concerns touch on two aspects that I would like to respond to:

1) Being environmentally friendly is expensive, and

2) Taking care of the environment is inferior to reaching (or perhaps taking care of) people.


While my response to these two points is not intended to be exhaustive or perfect, I have at least four things Christians should think about:

 

1) Yes, there are very expensive, environment things one could do, like installing solar panels or a windmill. Many of these things are, unfortunately, currently cost prohibitive for many people and churches. However, awareness and intentional behavior modification goes a long way. Being environmentally friendly can help churches reduce costs! My church, Eastwind Community Church in Boise, Idaho (www.eastwindcc.com) has had three people from local businesses (a power company, a recycling company, and an electrical installation company) come to our church and help us develop a system that reduces our impact on the environment and helps us save money as an added benefit. During an economic recession, every little bit helps.

I've landed in California after another 2 years in Africa and, once again, I find there are so many things to love.  For starters, I love the city of Pasadena, Southern California's only "real" city, if you ask me.  It's old enough to have a little history.  Pasadena has real trees with old roots and a spectacular city hall.  I love the affordable dining-out in this state, the crazy way the mountains almost touch the sea, the sense that anything can happen.  I love that people buy flowers and eat fruit and want to be informed, concerned and relevant.  

 

I tiptoe into the my areas of concern because I really don't want to sound as if I'm judging.  I just can't help being surprised by certain things during this month that we've been back.  So let's call this my short list of surprises.

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wendell and i commune outside the laundry door

my feet planted softy in the dewey grass

back warming in the gentle morning sun

 

i move up and down by the basket

spreading wide sheets and

smoothing faded t-shirts

across the sagging lines

 

from somewhere in my memory

wendell speaks

lilting lines

songs of earth and sun and field

 

in the rhythm of my work

i take pleasure

and feel joy

 

these damp garments

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"Imagine it's morning. You wake up and you are totally alone. You're 90 years old, and you're the last of your kind on earth."

This is the opening line of F. Abraham Murray's naration PBS's "The Loneliest Animals." The video footage of "Lonely George," the last known tortoise in the Galapagos Islands, is quite stirring, craning his 90-year-old neck in search of his next meal.

George is but one of many nearly-extinct animals on the planet, several of which are featured in this moving documentary. You can watch the entire episode here.

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