It almost got past me! Today is Blog Action Day. I expect there will be a lot of talk out there about environmentalism. My two cents will go in as well.
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Let me start though, by saying that the human race is not the enemy of the earth. I really think that a lot of people are over reacting to some things and that it is an abysmal joke that Al Gore received a Nobel Prize for environmentalism..
But just because I do not share all things in common with some environmentalists, that does not mean that dominion over and stewardship of the rest of creation is completely unimportant..
As you can see in this old photo, we allowed our son's face to become messy while he ate. We cleaned everything up afterward, but we didn't hover over him with a sanitizing wipe after each smudge. His mess was normal. It was not deliberate, so we did not take offense..
The thing that really gets me is a deliberate disregard for others, like when people empty their car's trash on the street. Or discarding anything on the sidewalk rather than inside a waste receptacle. If the wind carries a candy wrapper out of the trash and into my lawn, it's okay; I'll pick it up with no hard feelings. But don't let me catch anyone casually tossing an ice cream wrapper on my lawn. That bugs me worse than dandelions!
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11 comments:
I do not think that the human race is the enemy of earth, but I also think that the human race is responsible for a lot of the destruction. After all, it is humans who chose to destroy most of the rainforests. It is humans who overfish to the point where much of our salmon, tuna, and shark are depleted. The Baiji dolphin was recently found to be extinct, due to humans.
Now I, too, think there is overreaction on some things. Global warming, for example. For an excellent view on the joke that global warming has become, you should check out a blog called The Evangelical Ecologist...which takes on a conservative Christian viewpoint on conversation & environmentalism. They write about "supposed global warming" from time to time.
No, I don't think we are the enemy because that would imply we wouldn't want to turn things around. Humans just have to remember that dominion over the earth doesn't mean we have the right to be careless towards God's creation. And it is as simple as picking up that candy wrapper that blew in the wind.
By the way, when I see someone littering, it drives me up the wall as well.
By the way, I said "conversation" rather than "conservation" regarding The Evangelical Ecologist blog. It's so easy when it's only two letters switching places.
Well, Craver, you could always choose to do with them what I do with dandelions. ;-)
LL, you brew them to make tea, so are you saying I should catch the litterbugs and boil them? No, I could never...
Mrrr, have I told you about how as a teenager, I used to work for a funeral home? Most of the time I answered phones and vacuumed flower petals, but occasionally, the owner/director would take me out with him to "police the neighborhood." That meant we would take a garbage bag, and clean up all the trash on and anywhere near his property. It didn't matter that someone else put it there; all that mattered was that we make it look nice again. I guess you could say that Casey Laskowski planted the seeds for my beautiful lawn.
I live near the Cheapeake Bay, and when I was a child I remember swimming at a friend of the family's house, and there was all this sea weed. It grew like weeds. I mean .... nevermind.
Now when you swin in the bay there's no seaweed. Polution killed it. And when you come out of the water, if you had a white swimming suit, it's now beige.
The global warming hype is just that.
But we surely have polluted a lot of this earth.
I can't imagine what it must have been like 500 years ago. Wow!
And to think God is going to burn it all up, and make it new for His glory and for us, His children. Looking forward to that Day!
"Vacuumed flower petals"
...that is officially the best statement I've heard today! :)
I like that it didn't matter who had put the trash there when you all cleaned it up. I think that's great to remember, because it's so easy for us to pass the buck and say "well I didn't do it, so why should I have to clean it up?" And really, that's something we can keep in mind regarding any situation, not just picking up litter.
Nice photo. You make a good point it's very easy for me to say oh there's a piece of trash in my yard I didn't put it there so I am not going to pick it up. Thanks for the reminder.
Randy
Yeah, I also do what you do. Put the trash in proper place and if I don't get any nearby I carry it in a bag (I always carry a throwaway bag) till I get one. My jacket pockets have done a great job many times for little things like candy wrappers. ;)
But in India we face another problem... The trash can itself gets stolen sometimes. :) Now, don't raise your eyebrows, it happens. :)
I also do many other things like car pooling, switching off unused electrical appliances and so on.
We won't get anything if we keep having hard feelings as who did it, who should do it etc. Best way is to spread the knowledge by starting yourself.
Till now the most cleanest place I saw was Switzerland. No comparisons with any other countries.
Craver,
All politics, environmentalism and activists aside - that little boy is adorable!!!
LOVE that picture! What a cutie!
Don, I hear what you're saying. I planned on swimming in the lake at family camp this summer, but when I was in up to my waist, I couldn't go farther. The thought of total immersion produced a gag reflex.
I stayed back when my parents visited Puerto Rico 20 years ago. (That's the week I came to know the Lord.) They returned, telling stories of how clear the water was. At that point, my only reference to any beach was Lake Michigan... yukk!
Heh! I'm glad I could amuse you, Mrrr.
Hey Randy, let me just say that you are a blessing. I appreciate you, Brother.
Cuckoo, the people stealing your trash are probably paparazzi trying to sell your true identity and likeness to your American fans. Actually, people steal garbage here, too. For that reason, it's a good idea to shred sensitive documents.
Ah, my dear friends Deborah and Llama Momma, thanks for the compliment. I am tempted to say that he must have been switched at birth, but I can clearly see the physical resemblance to his beautiful mother. And if you knew his warped sense of humor... he clearly is his father's son!
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