Being an Environmentalist in Suburbia

TROWEL & SWORD

Cathy Wilson

“What can one person do?”
“Why bother if Jesus is coming back?”
“Do I have to do anything? My friends will call me a greenie or a tree hugger!”
“I recycle, isn’t that enough?”

These are some of the questions that have challenged many Christians, myself and probably you too, about the environment. They are questions that we can easily push into the back of our minds and try to forget about, so that our lives don’t have to be altered.

For many years I tried to ignore these questions. I thought that I was a pretty good Christian. I thought that I was doing everything that God asked me to do, to love Him and to love those around me. I had my own life, my own worries. I didn’t think I had time to do anything to help the environment or to become interested in the issue. I had my education, my work, my relationships and my leisure time to think about. I figured that others would deal with the environmental problem, so I ignored these thoughts and questions. They stayed comfortably in my mind... for a while.

Two years ago now, God changed all that. A teacher at my school suggested that I go to Canberra for a convention for the Australian Youth Parliament for the Environment. Young people from all over Australia, plus others from New Zealand, Argentina and Sweden came for the weeklong event. It wasn’t a Christian convention; rather it was a convention for youth to learn about the current environmental issues and what one could do to have a positive impact on people in the community and on the earth. While I was there I learnt that there is LOTS that one person can do to help. I learnt that helping the environment is serving God and serving others around me and that it doesn’t matter if my friends call me a greenie or a tree hugger! I learnt that recycling is great, but that it isn’t enough.

Since then, God has continued to challenge me in where I stand in the world and in His Kingdom in relation to my responsibility to the environment. I look outside and see how beautiful the world is. Australia has many awesome sights that are special examples to us of God’s workmanship, power and creativity. Uluru and the great outback, which is hot, dry and sandy, has indescribable sunsets and displays of thousands of stars each clear night. There are the beaches all around the coastline, where we see the might of the waves and currents that drive the water to and fro. And beneath the surface lie hidden treasures of coral, fish and other sea creatures. We have the bush and tropical rain forests, the rivers and creeks, the mountains and the plains, all of which are teeming with wildlife and insects.

As a young person, I don’t have all the answers about Christianity and the environment; I still have a very long way to go! But I know that God loves what he made. I also know that God wants us to love it and enjoy it too. I see the environment as a gift that God has given to us. Just as God gave Adam and Eve the Garden of Eden to live in, so God gives us the whole earth. For hundreds of years Christians have remembered the words in Genesis, where God says to Adam and Eve, “…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).

Christians have indeed done what God has asked. Humankind has ruled over all the world, taking from it what they... what we... wanted. We have filled the earth, and we have subdued it. But in this process we have also ruined the exquisite creation that God made and loves. We have forgotten to care for the gift. We have overused and damaged the gift that God gave us. Yes, it is because of sin. We are greedy and selfish, proud and ruthless. Yes, in Jesus we are forgiven. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to God, to ourselves, to our children, to care for the gift, the environment.

Although Australia’s environment is pretty terrific, I know from my own experiences that we are sheltered from the harsh reality of a sick and hurting creation. Deforestation is a problem. We need trees for oxygen and for a healthy eco-system among other things. Pollution is another problem: it is killing creation, the animals, plants and insects. Air pollution is having a significant impact on the 6.8 million inhabitants of Hong Kong. Pollution is turning the sky permanently grey (regardless of the weather). It is costing the government billions from health care expenses and loss of productivity. One report states that, “The World Health Organisation has warned that Hong Kong’s current air quality could lead to 2,000 premature deaths annually.” This problem is caused by diesel-fuelled vehicles, factories and power stations. It is just one of many cases of where human selfishness and greed have damaged the environment, putting dints and blemishes in God’s gift.

We can’t all go out and live on self-sufficient organic farms. We can’t all go out and hug trees to protest against deforestation. But all of us can all do something. There is the simple and easy act of recycling and reusing products (water and containers etc). You might reduce your consumption of products. Western people are famous for over eating and over-consumption, which are costly and damaging to the environment and to people in developing countries. You might reduce your consumption by buying less, by buying what you ‘need’ rather than what you ‘want’. You might be able to buy the things you ‘need’ from alternative sources such as opp shops. You could purchase environmentally friendly products, such as cotton and hemp clothes, encourage recycled packaging and products (such as recycled paper for toilet paper!).

Consider campaigning about environmental issues in our local area and state or writing letters to newspapers and politicians expressing your opinion. Another way to help the environment is to join or support an environmental organisation, whether locally or nationally. There are many such organisation s, but many unfortunately, clash with our Christian beliefs. However, there may be groups that are either Christian or that have principles that don’t go against you own. Alternatively, if there is nothing in your area and if there is a group of people (big or small) in your Church, you could form your own group. In your group you could learn about the environment, about relevant issues in our society, and you could start small projects (such as a tree planting day), perhaps involving others from your Church. You could also surf the Internet so that you can become aware of, and learn more about the environment and find organisations that you could join. Two examples of these are Christian American groups, Target Earth “Serving the Earth, Serving the Poor”, which can be found at www.targetearth.org and the Evangelical Environmental Network which can also be found online.

A gift has been given to you. The environment is our physical life source; it gives us oxygen, nutrients, shelter from the elements, and a beautiful place to live. It is so easy for it to be admired and used. It is also so easy for us not to care for it. Don’t push this into the back of your mind, instead, have a think about it, talk to others and to God about it. Challenge yourself to take the responsibility to care for this gift which has been given to you from God, and see what awesome things you can learn and do.

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