At times, we slip into a view that God is only concerned with human beings. Actually, the Bible tells of God’s much wider concern. In Genesis, we learn that all the universe is created by God and all is seen by God as good. God forms humans out of the creation – the dust of the earth and commissions them to be carers of the earth and it’s flourishing. After the flood, God made a covenant with humans and every living creature. In the New Testament Jesus teaches us to pray for the Kingdom to come on earth as in heaven and later Jesus is seen not just as the saviour of humans but the one in whom all creation holds together… so this makes the environment a faith issue.
Carbon dioxide and climate change has become the first thing that people think of when they consider our impact on our world. However, this is just one area of concern shared by environmental scientists and ecologists. About eight years ago, a group of scientists was convened under the chairmanship of Professor Johan Rockström of the Stockholm Resilience Centre to consider as far as possible, the totality of humanity’s impact upon planet Earth. They identified the following nine areas of concern:
- Carbon dioxide and climate change
- Reduction in biodiversity and species loss
- Use and misuse of nitrogen
- Land use and misuse
- Fresh water supplies and the influence of water on climate
- Release of toxic substances including plastic materials
- Release of aerosol-sized particles into the atmosphere
- Acidification of the oceans
- Damage to the Ozone layer and its consequences
As we shall see, these topics are inter-related, and information on them will be put onto the Church website, month by month for a trial period, beginning with an item on plastics (shopping bags, etc.). In future we hope to touch on topics including food, transport, energy use and so on.