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August 22nd, 2022

8/22/2022

                                        FORESTRY AND FOREST ECOLOGY
GLOBAL LEADERS ARE FINALLY RECOGNIZING THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUE HUMANITY HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED, THE CARRYING-CAPACITY OF PLANET EARTH. UNFORTUNATELY, THEIR FOCUS IS PRIMARILY ON CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH IS THE RESULT OF POPULATION EXPANSION AND DEFORESTATION. UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUE WILL BE NECESSARY, IF WE HOPE TO FIND THE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL TRULY PROVIDE FUTURE LIFE ON EARTH. I HAVE INVESTED MUCH OF MY RETIREMENT YEARS ATTEMPTING TO INFORM PEOPLE OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE ISSUE AND THE LIMITED TIME LEFT TO CORRECT OUR PAST GREEDY MISTAKES. THERE ARE THOSE THAT DISAGREE THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE HUMAN CAUSED, BECAUSE THE REQUIRED CHANGES WILL RESULT IN MAJOR CHANGES IN LIFE STYLES AND THE ECONOMY. SOME PREFER TO IGNORE THE PROBLEMS BASED ON MISINFORMATION, LACK OF UNDERSTANDING AND CHANGES HAVE NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED, THEREBY MAKING THE UNKNOWN A SCARY SITUATION. CHANGE MEANS NEW AND UNKNOWN EXPERIENCES THAT WILL UPSET CURRENT NORMS. THE CRITICAL ISSUE THAT WE FACE IS THE DESTINY OF OUR OWN SPECIES! CERTAINLY, THIS SHOULD ENERGIZE EACH ONE OF US TO ACTION!
MY MISSION IS TO HELP THE PUBLIC UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR CHANGE, BY PRESENTING THE FACTS AND SUGGESTING SOLUTIONS TO PROLONG LIFE ON EARTH. IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO REACH PEOPLE, SO SUCCESS HAS BEEN LIMITED. BEING A NATURAL RESOURCE SCIENTIST, AND NOT BEING A HIGH-PROFILE PERSON, HAS INCREASED THE PROBLEM OF CONVINCING THE PUBLIC OF HOW SERIOUS THE ISSUES ARE. I HAVE DONE CONSIDERABLE RESEARCH TO LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUT CURRENT CONDITIONS OF OUR NATURAL WORLD. THE MORE I LEARNED, THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN COMMUNITIES BECAME APPARENT. ECOSYSTEMS ARE TRULY COMMUNITIES, WITH A VARIETY OF LIFE SYSTEMS SUPPORTING EACH OTHER AND UNIQUE FROM SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. THIS IS TRUE OF FOREST COMMUNITIES AND HUMAN COMMUNITIES. WHEN THE BALANCE OF THE ECOSYSTEM IS UPSET, THE COMMUNITY CAN HAVE DIFFICULTY SURVIVING.
IGNORING AND ATTEMPTING TO HID THE TRUTH, HAS INTENSIFIED THE ISSUES AND USED UP VALUABLE TIME NEEDED TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS. IT IS ALSO TRUE, THAT THE ISSUES ARE EXTREMELY COMPLEX DEMANDING INTENSE STUDY AND COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ECOSYSTEMS FUNCTION. FOCUSING ON CO2 LEVELS IN OUR ATMOSPHERE, CAUSED BY FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION, DOES NOT PROVIDE THE RANGE OF UNDERSTANDING REQUIRED TO ADEQUATELY REVERSE OUR CLIMATE CHANGE PROBLEMS. THIS IS THE REASON I HAVE BEEN STRESSING THE NECESSITY OF EDUCATING OUR YOUTH IN ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES. WE NEED TO START AS EARLY AS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVELS. THIS IS ALSO, WHY I STRONGLY SUPPORT THE NEED FOR AN ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION FOR MOST ADVANCED COLLEGE DEGREES. OUR DESTINY DEPENDS UPON OUR INDEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURAL WORLD, UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIPS SUPPORTING LIFE SYSTEMS AND OUR WILLINGNESS TO BECOME ACTIVISTS IN PROLONGING LIFE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. THIS REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING HOW LIFE SYSTEMS FUNCTION AND DEPEND UPON A DIVERSITY OF SPECIES.
COMPARING FORESTRY TO FOREST ECOLOGY PROVIDES AN EXAMPLE WHICH DEMONSTRATES THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUES WE ARE FACING, AND THE KIND OF KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL BE REQUIRED IF WE CARE ABOUT HUMANITY’S FUTURE. IT ILLUSTRATES THE NECESSITY OF APPLYING ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES TO FIND LOGICAL AND REALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO THIS HUMANITARIAN ISSUE.
THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FORESTRY WORLDVIEW AND AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE. THIS DIFFERENCE IS ACTUALLY APPLICABLE TO ALL EARTH SCIENCES. ASSUMING A FOREST SCIENTIST UNDERSTAND FUNCTIONING ECOSYSTEMS IS LIKE ASSUMING AN AUTO PARTS PATTERN MAKER HAS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FUNCTIONING OF AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, JUST BECAUSE THEY MAKE PATTERNS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL PARTS.
TO ASSUME A FORESTER IS KNOWLEDGEABLE OF THE DETAIL OF ECOSYSTEMS IS INACCURATE, SINCE A DEGREE IN FORESTRY FOCUSES ON HOW TO PRODUCE WOOD FIBER FOR THE WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY. THE FORESTER’S MANAGEMENT FOCUS IS ON WHAT THE FORESTS CAN PROVIDE IN USEFUL PRODUCTS RATHER THAN THE HEALTH AND BIO-DIVERSITY OF THE FOREST ECOSYSTEM. MOST FORESTRY CURRICULUM'S INCLUDE:
DENDROLOGY (TREE IDENTIFICATION)
FOREST MEASUREMENTS (SURVEYING, TREE VOLUME MEASUREMENTS AND TREE AND LUMBER GRADING)
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
FOREST HEALTH (INSECT AND DISEASE PROBLEMS)
HYDROLOGY
SOIL SCIENCE
SILVICULTURE (TIMBER HARVESTING SYSTEMS)
WILDLIFE AND RANGE MANAGEMENT.
MANY FORESTRY SCHOOLS NOW REQUIRE AN INTRODUCTORY COURSE OR TWO, IN FOREST ECOLOGY.
FORESTERS TEND TO VIEW ECOLOGICAL DISTURBANCES FROM DISEASE, WILDFIRE, INSECTS AND DROUGHT, AS SIGNS OF UNHEALTHY FORESTS, AND WORK TO SANITIZE THE FORESTS BY REMOVING DEAD AND DYING TREES AND REDUCING FUELS THROUGH KILLING OR THINNING UNWANTED VEGETATION. THINNING PROJECTS ARE ALSO SUPPOSED TO INCREASE THE GROWTH RATE OF THE REMAINING TREES AND REDUCED FIRE RISK.
IN COMPARISON, AN ECOLOGIST RECOGNIZES THE UNIQUENESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS OR FOREST COMMUNITIES. THE UNIQUENESS IS PRIMARILY DUE TO THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SITE ON WHICH THE VEGETATION IS GROWING. ECOLOGISTS ARE TRAINED TO UNDERSTAND THESE UNIQUE COMMUNITIES PROVIDE THE BIO-DIVERSITY WHICH ALLOWS THE ECOSYSTEM TO FUNCTION AND SUPPORT LIFE. RECOGNIZING THE INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES CONFIRMS THAT THE FORESTS ARE A MOSAIC OF THESE DIVERSE ECOSYSTEMS. THE DIVERSITY OF THESE INDIVIDUAL COMMUNITIES PROVIDES SOME DEGREE OF FOREST PROTECTION FROM LARGE CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.
ECOLOGISTS ARE AWARE OF THE COMPLEX LIFE SYSTEMS BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND. THIS IS WHERE MILLIONS OF MILES OF MYCORRHIZAL NETWORKS ARE ATTACHED TO THE TREE ROOTS, AND AID THE TREE IN ABSORBING MOISTURE AND NUTRIENTS FROM THE SOIL, AS WELL AS PROVIDING THE COMMUNICATION NETWORKS THAT CONNECT THE TREE TO NEIGHBOR TREES. THIS ALLOWS THE TREES TO SHARE NITROGEN, MOISTURE AND OTHER NUTRIENTS WITH EACH OTHER. ECOLOGISTS ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE OF THE MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS THAT DIGEST THE ORGANIC MATERIAL CONVERTING IT TO NUTRIENTS TO FEED THE VARIOUS TREES AND SHRUBS. THEY REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING INDIGENOUS SPECIES THAT MAKE UP THE ECOSYSTEM, AND THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF REMOVING SPECIES FROM THE SYSTEM. UPSETTING THE BALANCE WITHIN A COMMUNITY CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS HARM AND EVEN DEATH TO SOME INDIGENOUS SPECIES. WHERE FORESTERS BELIEVE THEY ARE IMPROVING FOREST CONDITIONS THROUGH MANIPULATION, ECOLOGISTS SEE MANIPULATION AS DEGRADING THE ECOSYSTEM.
PLANET EARTH’S LAND BASE WAS ONCE SIXTY TO SEVENTY PERCENT COVERED WITH FORESTS. FORESTED LANDS ARE AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT OF THE NATURAL WORLD. WE DEFINE THE NATURAL WORLD AS THREE MAJOR COMPONENTS; FOREST COVERED LANDS, OCEANS AND SEAS AND THE ATMOSPHERE. TODAY, ONLY TWENTY-SIX PERCENT OF OUR LAND BASE REMAINS FOREST COVERED. OUR ATMOSPHERE CONTAINS 400 PPM OF CARBON DIOXIDE, THE HIGHEST LEVEL IN THE PAST EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS. THE OCEAN LEVELS HAVE RAISED ALMOST NINE INCHES SINCE 1880 DUE TO INCREASED WATER TEMPERATURES AND WORLDWIDE, WE CONTINUE DISPOSING ONE DUMP TRUCK OF WASTE, INCLUDING TOXIC WASTE, INTO THE OCEANS EVERY MINUTE.
THE FACTS ARE UNDISPUTABLE, AND CLEARLY DISCLOSE THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE ADVERSE IMPACTS DESTROYING OUR NATURAL WORLD. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEXITY OF LIFE FUNCTIONS IS RESULTING IN CONTINUED MANAGEMENT DECISIONS THAT ARE DESTROYING THE VERY ELEMENTS REQUIRED TO SUSTAIN LIFE.
IF OUR REMAINING FORESTED LANDS CONTINUE TO BE NOTHING BUT DOMESTICATED TREE FARMS AND THE WORLD POPULATION CONTINUES TO EXPAND, THERE IS LITTLE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE. OUR NARROW FOCUS ON GREEN ENERGY IS A POSITIVE STEP, BUT IT DISPLAYS THE OUR LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE THREE COMPONENTS OF OUR NATURAL WORLD. A THREE LEGGED STOOL CANNOT STAND WITH JUST ONE LEG! WE MUST RE-FOCUS OUR EFFORTS ON THE ENTIRE NATURAL WORLD IF WE HOPE TO PROLONG LIFE!
MANAGING OUR VALUABLE FORESTED LANDS WITH THE INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY PARADIGM IS NO LONGER AN ACCEPTABLE STRATEGY. IT MUST BE REPLACED WITH A FOREST ECOLOGICAL PARADIGM, WHICH RECOGNIZES THE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE INDIGENOUS SPECIES WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEMS. TODAY, THERE ARE FAR TOO MANY ECOSYSTEMS THAT ARE DYING DUE TO HUMAN DISTURBANCE, ON LAND, SEAS AND IN OUR ATMOSPHERE. ANYTHING LESS THAN CARING FOR THE ENTIRE NATURAL WORLD IS INSUFFICIENT!
THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FORESTRY AND FOREST ECOLOGY IS SIMPLY AN EXAMPLE WHICH IS APPLICABLE TO ALL EARTH SCIENCE PROFESSIONS. IT DEMONSTRATES THE IMPORTANCE OF THE “THINK SLOW” PROCESS, AND THE NECESSITY OF UNDERSTANDING THE ENTIRE COMPLEX ECOSYSTEM, BEFORE IMPLEMENTING MANAGEMENT ACTIONS. A DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW LIFE FUNCTIONS IS MANDATORY FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR SPECIES!
THIS IS THE RATIONALE THAT HAS CONVINCED ME OF THE IMPORTANCE OF INJECTING ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES INTO THE EDUCATION OF OUR STUDENTS. NOT ONLY AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL, BUT STARTING AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL!

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August 09th, 2022

8/9/2022

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                                 RELIGION AND ENVIRONMENTALISM

I AM INTRIGUED WITH THE QUESTION OF HOW RELIGIOUS BELIEFS STARTED. HUMAN BEINGS HAVE CONSTANTLY SEARCHED FOR UNDERSTANDING OF THE MYSTERY OF LIFE. THE COMPLEXITY OF THE STORY OF CREATION AND THE MAGIC OF LIFE IS WELL BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION. I BELIEVE AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND HUMAN LIFE, FORMED THE BASIS FOR DEVELOPING THE CONCEPT OF DIVINE PRESENCE TO UNDERSTANDING HOW THE UNIVERSAL COMMUNITY CAME INTO BEING. EARLY IN MANKIND’S DEVELOPMENT, THE MYSTERY OF LIFE GAVE RISE TO THESE SPIRITUAL BELIEFS, AND AMAZINGLY HAVE CONTINUED TO PREVAIL IN MODERN RELIGIOUS IDEALS.
EARLY ON, THE MANKIND BEGAN A SEARCH FOR EXPLANATIONS ABOUT CREATION AND LIFE, WHICH COULD ONLY BE FOUND IN SPIRITUAL IDEALS. THIS RESULTED IN A STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN RELIGION AND ENVIRONMENTALISM, WHICH HAS LASTED TO MODERN TIMES. RECENTLY, WE HAVE SEEN THEOLOGIANS FROM A VARIETY OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS, DISCUSSING RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES TOWARD NATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT. WE HAVE ALSO SEEN AN EXPLOSION OF RELIGIOUS CONCERNS TOWARD RELATIONSHIPS WITH NON-HUMAN SPECIES AND THE CONCEPT OF ECOSYSTEMS. THE HISTORICAL ACCEPTANCE OF DIVINE INTERVENTION, LED HUMANS TO RELY ON RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEX AND MULTIFACETED BELIEFS, RITUALS AND TEACHINGS FOR THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF EVERYTHING ON EARTH.
TWO HUNDRED FIFTY YEARS AGO, THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCES, STARTED A NEW ERA THAT RESULTED IN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN HUMANITY’S SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE. A MASS MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE FROM RURAL LIFE TO URBAN CENTERS WAS INITIATED AS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES WERE EXPANDING IN THE METROPOLITAN AREAS, WHILE OFFERING INCREASED FINANCIAL REWARDS. TODAY, 82% OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS ARE CLASSIFIED AS URBANITES. IT WAS NOT LONG BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES BECAME COMPLICIT BY SUPPORTING RAPID INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY. THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT OUR NATION EXPERIENCED RAPID ECONOMIC GROW AND AFFLUENCE AS A RESULT OF URBANIZATION AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT. UNFORTUNATELY, THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR MODERN SOCIETY HAVE BECOME FOCUSED ON GREED AND INDIVIDUALISM. WE HAVE ALIENATED OURSELVES FROM THE LAND AND NATURE, AND THE CHURCH TENDS TO FOCUS ON REDEMPTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL AT THE EXPENSE OF CREATION.
WORLD RELIGIONS STILL TEND TO BELIEVE WE MUST NEVER FORGET THAT NATURE WAS GOD’S CREATION AND NOT OF HUMAN CONCEPTION. THE FOLLOWING ARE A FEW QUOTES FROM DIFFERENT RELIGIONS ABOUT OUR CONNECTION TO NATURE:
     CHRISTIANITY; “WE MUST TREAT NATURE WITH THE SAME AWE AND WONDER THAT WE RESERVE FOR HUMAN BEINGS. WE DO NOT NEED THIS INSIGHT IN ORDER TO BELIEVE IN GOD OR TO PROVE HIS EXISTENCE. WE NEED IT TO BREATH; WE NEED IT FOR US TO SIMPLY BE.”
     BUDDHISM; “OUR ANCESTORS VIEWED EARTH AS RICH AND BOUNTIFUL, WHICH IT IS. MANY PEOPLE IN THE PAST ALSO SAW NATURE AS INEXHAUSTIBLY SUSTAINABLE, WHICH WE NOW KNOW IS THE CASE ONLY IF WE CARE FOR IT.”
     BAHA’L; “NATURE IS GODS WILL AND IS ITS EXPRESSION IN AND THROUGH THE CONTINGENT WORLD”.
     HINDUISM; “THERE IS AN INSEPARABLE BOND BETWEEN MAN AND NATURE. FOR MAN, THERE CANNOT BE AN EXISTENCE REMOVED FROM NATURE”.
    CONFUCIANISM; “SUSTAINABLE HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE HUMAN SPECIES AND NATURE IS NOT MERELY AN ABSTRACT IDEAL, BUT A CONCRETE GUIDE FOR PRACTICAL LIVING”.
   ISLAM; “DEVOTE THYSELF SINGLE-MINDEDLY TO THE FAITH, AND FOLLOW THE NATURE DESIGNED BY ALLAH, THE NATURE ACCORDING TO WHICH HE HAS FASHIONED MANKIND. THERE IS NO ALTERING THE CREATION OF ALLAH”.
JUDAISM; “AND GOD SAID: BEHOLD I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERY HERB YIELDING SEED, WHICH IS UPON THE FACE OF ALL THE EARTH, AND EVERY TREE, WHICH IS THE FRUIT OF A TREE YIELDING SEED – TO YOU IT SHALL BE FOR FOOD”.
TAOISM; “THIS ORIGINAL NATURE IS THE ETERNAL LAW. TO KNOW THE NATURE’S LAW IS TO BE ENLIGHTENED. HE WHO IS IGNORANT OF THE NATURE’S LAW SHALL ACT RECKLESSLY, AND THUS WILL INVITE MISFORTUNE. TO KNOW THE CONSTANT LAW OF NATURE IS TO BE GENEROUS. BEING GENEROUS, ONE IS IMPARTIAL. BEING IMPARTIAL, ONE IS THE SOVEREIGN. SOVEREIGN IS THE NATURE ITSELF”.
IT IS OBVIOUS THAT WORLD RELIGIONS HAVE SHARED A CLOSE CONNECTION TO ENVIRONMENTALISM THROUGHOUT HISTORY. WESTERN MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS BELIEVE WE MUST APPRECIATE THAT NATURE WAS GOD’S CREATION AND GOD’S PROPERTY. WE ARE NOT THE MASTERS OF EARTH, BUT SIMPLY A PART OF CREATION. IT IS ALSO OBVIOUS, THAT THE LAST 250 YEARS OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE HAS RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF HUMANITY’S RESPECT FOR THE NATURAL WORLD. THIS HAS RESULTED IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS WHICH IS PROBABLY THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE HUMAN BEINGS HAVE EVER FACED.
RECENTLY, THIS WORLDWIDE CRISIS HAS CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF A FEW THEOLOGIANS, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN EFFORTS TO REGENERATE INTEREST IN OUR SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO NATURE. THEIR EFFORTS HAVE NOT RESULTED IN MUCH SOCAL CHANGE NOR ACCEPTANCE OF THE TRUE CRISIS WE FACE WORLDWIDE. THE MAJOR SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IS THE CONCEPT OF NATURE IS NOW DEFINED AS SOMETHING NEW, THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH IS A NON-HUMAN WORLD WHOSE LIFE AND DEATH IS CONTROLLED BY HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS BEYOND BELIEF, THAT MANY STILL BELIEVE THAT HUMAN’S ARE NOT THE CAUSE OF THE MULTIFACETED ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS HUMANITY NOW FACES. THE TRUTH IS WHAT WE DO TO EARTH WE DO TO OURSELVES. HUMAN BEINGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT ARE TOTALLY CONNECTED, EACH SIDE AFFECTING, AND BEING AFFECTED, BY THE OTHER.
WHEN WE LOOK AT RELIGION, ECOLOGY AND TODAY'S CRISIS, TWO QUESTIONS ARISE. WHAT HAVE WORLD RELIGIONS BELIEVED ABOUT HUMAN RELATIONS WITH NATURE, AND HOW MUST THESE BELIEFS CHANGE TO ADDRESS TODAY'S ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS? SCIENCE HAS BEEN ALERTING US TO THIS CRISIS FOR THE PAST 50 YEARS, YET OUR CORPORATE AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS HAVE FOUND FINANCIAL PROFITS AND COSTS TO BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN FUTURE LIFE ON EARTH. ACADEMIA HAS ALSO CONTINUED THEIR FOCUS ON CONSUMPTION AND UTILIZATION, RATHER THAN ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS FOR THE NATURAL WORLD. INSTEAD OF A RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION TO ECO-JUSTICE, MUCH OF OUR SOCIETY CONCENTRATES ON WHO GETS THE MONEY, MORE THAN THE CONSEQUENCES OF HOW WE PRODUCE THAT WEALTH.
I HAVE SPENT MUCH OF MY RETIREMENT YEARS STUDYING AND ANALYZING HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE NATURAL WORLD, AND HAVE CONCLUDED THAT OUR FUTURE WILL DEPEND UPON TWO MAJOR ELEMENTS; RELIGION AND ECOLOGY. UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE ALSO FOUND THAT WHAT RELIGIOUS FOLLOWERS SAY AND DO ARE FREQUENTLY TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. IT IS ALSO TROUBLING TO KNOW THAT PARTICIPATION IN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES, IN THE UNITED STATES, IS AT AN ALL TIME LOW. WE MUST FIND WAYS FOR OUR RELIGIOUS LEADERSHIP TO ENCOURAGE THE RECOVERY OF OUR SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO NATURE, EDUCATE OUR PEOPLE IN ECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS AND BECOME WILLING PARTICIPANTS IN IMPLEMENTING THE REQUIRED CHANGES.
HISTORY, INCLUDING RECENT HISTORY, SELDOM COMES FROM LEADERSHIP INTUITION AND DIRECTION, BUT RATHER AT THE INSISTENCE OF THE PEOPLE. I BELIEVE POLITICS, ECONOMICS, ENERGY POLICY, AGRICULTURE AND TRANSPORTATION ARE RELIGION’S BUSINESS. I ALSO BELIEVE ANY STRONG RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT INCLUDES AN ENVIRONMENTAL ETHIC. THIS CRISIS IS A SPIRITUAL PROBLEM, AFFECTING THE PASSION AND INTIMACY OF RELIGIOUS LIFE.
TOMORROW DEPENDS UPON STRONG LEADERSHIP FROM THE CHURCH TO RECREATE THE SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP WE REQUIRE WITH NATURE, AND ACADEME’S LEADERSHIP TO PROVIDE AN ECOLOGICAL BASE FOR OUR YOUTH. THERE IS MUCH TO BE DONE AND LITTLE TIME TO DO IT!

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