Environmental Stewardship

Why does awareness not result in immediate, radical changes? Why can we listen to and even experience these things first hand and still go on with our lives as before?

We are wired to: Respond to abrupt changes Pay attention to what is near at hand Be concerned with our fellow human beings

A Few Issues to Explore

Garbage Disposal or Garbage Dispersal?

Water Incorporated Percent of all water on planet that is available to drink? The wars of the next century will be fought over water - The World Bank, % Global consumption of water doubling every 20 yrs Fresh water >.005% of water on Earth By 2025, two-thirds of world population will be living with serious shortages or absolute water scarcity

Bolivian Army and water privatization protesters face off in Cochabamba. (Photo courtesy Nadir)

What to consider the next time you have a cup of coffee …

What’s happened to Juan Valdez ?

Is it Fair Trade Coffee? $1.26/lb versus less than 39¢ a pound

Environmental Impact: Sun or Shade Grown?

Where do our electronic gadgets end up when we’re done with them?

High Tech Trash million tons are generated each year. 80% of e-waste is sent to China. Workers receive $1.50 a day to break apart these items.

100,000,000 cell phones are “retired” every year. Most are thrown in the garbage. A cell phone contains 500 to 1000 components. Many of these contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and beryllium and hazardous chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants. Polluting PVC plastic is also frequently used. These metals are highly toxic and can harm children and developing fetuses even at low levels. Cell phones are replaced on average every 18 months. Only 5% are recycled.

Wires are sorted by day and burned by night releasing dioxins and other cancer causing materials. The families live right in the burn yards. Guiyu, China

Man sweeping toner out of printer cartridge. Toners are made of carbon black -- a class 2A carcinogen (IARC). The toner billows in his face all day long without respiratory protection of any kind. Cartridges are later dumped by the river. Guiyu, China.

Computers and burning televisions - Lagos, Nigeria

The Earth is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects. Thomas Berry

Our ethical traditions know how to deal with suicide, homicide, and genocide; but these traditions collapse entirely when confronted with biocide, the extinction of life systems, and geocide, the devastation of the Earth itself.

The ecological community is not subordinate to the human community. Nor is the ecological imperative derivative from human ethics. Rather, our human ethics are derivative from the ecological imperative. The basic ethical norm is the well-being of the comprehensive community and the attainment of human well-being within that community.

Reverence For Each Person We believe that each person is a manifestation of the sacredness of human life Community We demonstrate our connectedness to each other through inclusive and compassionate relationships Justice We advocate for a society in which all can realize their full potential and achieve the common good Commitment To Those Who Are Poor We give priority to those whom society ignores Stewardship We care for and strengthen the ministry and all resources entrusted to it

Reverence For All Beings We believe that all beings are a valuable manifestation of God’s creation Earth Community We demonstrate our connectedness to each other and to the natural world by fostering compassionate and mutually enhancing human- earth relationships Eco-Justice We advocate for a jurisprudence that recognizes the right to life, to habitat, and to the flourishing of all earth’s creations Commitment To The Endangered We address the needs of humans, other species and ecosystems that are at risk Stewardship We care for and strengthen the spiritual, human, and natural resources that are now dependent our care

What is our role – as care giver, as employer, as corporate citizen - in establishing a mutually enhancing human-earth presence?