Some of the most significant environmental problems of our time result from the collective impact of individual consumption decisions. We decide what to eat, what to wear, how to heat and cool our homes, how to transport ourselves, and what products to buy. But there are multiple ways for Christians to address the environmental, social, and personal costs of consumption. (Illustration: V. John Ondrasik, Shopping Cart, United States Patent #716871)
Some may say simplicity is becoming the new normal–the way we must live to ensure a future for those who will come after us and for our entire planet. Another way to look at simplicity is as a “better” normal, as a way to sustain health, well-being, and community. Click here to Read Duane Elgin’s […]
When is enough, well, enough? Rob Dietz and Dan O’Neill have some definite ideas and suggestions. Check out this essay adapted for the New Dream Blog from their book Enough is Enough. It squares well with scriptural guidance and would make a good basis for topical study. (Photo: jakerome, Creative Commons)
Check out this article from Mother Nature Network! It shows you how to recycle everything from crayons to Crocs and a whole lot more. (Photo: jjsink, Creative Commons)
In this article, Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., discusses why it is important to teach ecoliteracy to develop social and emotional learning skills. These principles are equally applicable to Christian education programs and parish life initiatives.
Catholic Bernard Unabali of Papua New Guinea serves people who became the world’s first Climate Change Refugees when rising sea levels overran their atoll communities, and he expects there to be many more refugees coming years. Part of a Catholic symposium on climate change, his witness helps connect faith and the environment.
The planet is facing major ecological problems: global warming, loss of species diversity, loss of forests and arable land, disposal of garbage and toxic waste, pollution of air, land, and water, over-population, depletion of non-replaceable natural resources, diminution of food sources, ocean acidification and collapse of fisheries, among others. And the survival of creation as we humans have known it is at stake. Here are five principles for a Christian response. (Photo by NASA)
Where I live, it’s easy to remember the cycles of nature and the joyous, bountiful season of harvest. Mile after country mile in Adams County, Pennsylvania, brings you past apple orchards where the fruit, sometimes clustered like grapes, pulls the branches of the trees way down low, so the leaves sweep the ground. The harvest […]
Here’s a detailed article by Bill McKibben published in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine that explains the chilling math of climate change. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, McKibben’s thoughtful analysis is a must-read for anyone who cares about the stewardship of creation. Click here to access the article. (Photo by […]
One aspect of the Christian life that often gets little attention in most Lutheran confirmation programs is environmental stewardship. Following is a six-session program that concentrates on how each individual person interacts with his or her surrounding environment. The program has three basic goals; an awareness of how many resources it takes for each of us to live, an awareness of the amounts and kinds of waste each of us generates, and an awareness of our human and Christian responsibility to steward the use of God’s creation.
