On the Other Hand

Copyright 2011 - Eco-Justice Ministries

Telling the Truth about God's Creation

An Eco-Justice Notes series for Lent, 2011
There are many forms and layers of truth that shape our decisions about how to live
in relationship with God's creation. Those truths include scientific, theological, moral
and psychological assertions which often hold conflicting beliefs or conclusions. To
be honest and fruitful, though, any statement of truth must conform to basic facts
about the world in which we live. This Lenten series will address several of those
foundational truths which are apparent from an eco-justice perspective, but which
are often denied by others.

Last week's Notes named the truth that humans are part of the creation, not outside it
or above it. We are creatures, made of the same stuff as all other creature. We, too, are
mortal and fragile, needing food and water and warmth, especially when the thin veneer
of human control is stripped away.

That is true. But on the other hand, we must also name the remarkable capacity that
humans have to shape the biosphere of which we are a part. To a degree that sets us
apart from all other species on this planet, we are able -- and often quite willing -- to
impact life on Earth in amazing ways.

The truth about God's creation must include humanity's unique power to shape
the world.

Going back tens of thousands of years, our ancestors have exercised some of that
influence, but our dramatic impacts on the planet have taken shape much more recently.
Three broad examples document this human power and influence.

INVASIVE SPECIES: One of the earliest things that people did to change the world is
move things around. By moving plants and animals outside of their established range,
the ecological balance of entire regions is changed.

When people began to build boats, they carried things -- intentionally and
unintentionally-- to places where large bodies of water had prevented natural spreading.
Polynesians spread the Pacific rats across their far-flung islands. The arrival of pigs and
goats in Hawaii destabilized the entire ecosystem. The introduction of rabbits to
Australia is a classic example of an out-of-control invasive species.

Kudzu has taken over large areas of the southeastern US, and tamarisk crowds out
other plants on river banks throughout the southwest. Zebra mussels, accidentally
transported across the Atlantic in the bilge water of ships, are overwhelming rivers and
lakes -- and even the state parks in Colorado are fighting to stop their spread.

Invasive species, mostly moved around by humans, are a major cause of the rapid
extinction of species around the world. They crowd out and disrupt long-established
populations. Whether intentionally or accidentally, our spread of species has an
enormous impact on the world.

OCEAN FISHERIES: I remember well the hopeful promises of the 1960s and 70s that
world hunger would be alleviated by tapping into the unlimited bounty of the oceans. But
less than 50 years later, ocean fisheries are in severe crisis, depleted by over
harvesting, the waste of by-catch, and destructive nets that destroy habitat.

In one or two generations, powerful technologies -- sonar, drift nets, long-lines fishing,
giant trawlers and processing ships -- have profoundly changed ocean ecologies. The
human diminishment of sea life is an all-too-clear example of humanity's ability to
change and overwhelm natural systems.

CARBON DIOXIDE AND CLIMATE CHANGE: When I hear of people who deny that
humans have an impact on the planet, it is usually in relation to the rapidly escalating
crisis of climate change. "The Earth is so big," some say. "How can our small presence
change it?"

But change it we have, through the incomprehensibly vast burning of fossil fuels. As I
said a few weeks ago, I believe in physics and chemistry, and I know that burning those
fuels releases carbon dioxide. The coal, oil and gas that fuel our global economy and
make our lives so convenient contain carbon sequestered over hundreds of millions of
years. Our use of those fuels is putting carbon back into the atmosphere at a rate
thousands of times faster than it can be reabsorbed.

The levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have changed over the eons, ranging
between 200 and 300 parts per million through the last 800,000 years. Through all of
human history up to the 1800s, the atmosphere had about 275 ppm of CO2. Then the
industrial revolution took hold, followed by the age of oil. By 1920, the global CO2 levels
reached the long-term high of 300 ppm. In 1990, we'd climbed to 350 ppm, and the most
current measurement is 391.76 ppm. That is an increase of 90 parts per million in 90
years to a level that is unprecedented in Earth's "recent" geological history -- and we're
continuing to push the level up by 2 ppm per year.
Those high levels of carbon dioxide are caused by humans -- by the burning of fossil
fuels, and by the destruction of carbon "sinks" in forests and soil that would absorb
some of the CO2. Our power to change God's creation is evident in our impact on the
global climate.

+ + + + +

We homo sapiens are a distinctive and powerful presence on this planet. We share
characteristics such as self-awareness, language and tool-making with other creatures,
but we have developed and used those abilities in remarkable ways.

A few thousand years ago, people had unique abilities to shape their environment.
Agriculture, tools and increasing mobility created appreciable (but mostly local) impacts.
Within the last few centuries, though, our impact has exploded.

Our numbers are skyrocketing. 200 years ago, there were less than 1 billion people on
the planet. In 1950, there were 2.4 billion, and 5.5 billion in 1985. We're now at 6.9
billion. (That surging growth has come almost entirely through increased longevity from
clean water, basic sanitation, better nutrition and the suppression of common diseases.)
Greater numbers combine with expanding technology to amplify our ability to shape,
distort, and devastate the planet.

We humans are creatures, and part of the creation. But, on the other hand, we are
exceptionally powerful. The power that we hold must be taken into account as we seek
to live ethically and sustainably on this planet.

"For the first time, our power to destroy outstrips the earth's power to restore." -- Daniel
Maguire

Shalom!
Rev. Peter Sawtell
Executive Director, Eco-Justice Ministries