Catholic ecology

In writing my final paper I read a number of papal addresses about the need for treating the environment. A big role model for me is Saint John Paul II, his thoughts on caring for the environment inspired me. I learned more about John Paul II in a biography on him by Jason Evert. Evert wrote about John Paul's greatest five loves, love of the Eucharist, love of the Virgin Mary, and love of the Youth. These three chapters about John Paul changed my life. The fact he viewed these things and everything and person he encounter as a gift. I could not imagine that. As a man in the twentieth century, I found his perception of things as inspiring and beautiful. I wanted to perceive the world like John Paul because he was able to see God and Jesus just about everywhere. This perception was a big part of the class for me. My interaction with the environment and everyone in it can be a way for me to glorify God.

Ecology of Eden

I found my chapter on the over consumption of the land coming from the advancement of agricultural technology, interesting. Through the technology inspired by monks, the agriculture industry grew rapidly which Eisenberg argues caused the black death. The argument is not full proof but interesting. The agriculture advancement appeared to have an impact on the population. The population increased exponentially over a short period of time. Agricultural clearly has a large impact on mankind. The industry is run by man yet, man does not appear to be fully in control. Yet, the greed of man is what appears to be in control. Even today big corporations overrun the agriculture industry and corrupt it. I watched Food Inc. and watching how the corporations in the poultry industry forced people to treat their chickens in terrible ways was heartbreaking. I turn back to the idea of Christians needing to be the beginning of a change in these areas. There was talk of ministries beginning for these problems in Nature to Creation. I love the idea that Christians begin ministering to the agriculture industry, ministering to God's creation. I think ministering to humans is obviously more important but bringing those who need ministering to into these programs is ministering. Additionally, the good effect it would have would be beneficial to a large number of the population. Caring for God's creation with His children!

Nature to Creation

In Nature to Creation, there was a focus on Christians being specially called to stand for change n the treatment of the environment. Because of God's gift of man having dominion over the earth, there is a responsibility of man to the world. As human and especially as Christians the responsibility is because our understanding the gift God gave to us. I love the idea that with this great knowledge of God's gift we have a great responsibility to care for it. Christians have a responsibility to spread the Gospel and a similar but less important responsibility to care for the earth and share their knowledge of why with the world. Through God's Word, Christians know this and through His grace, we can fulfill His command, not perfectly.

Receiving gifts

In Christian tradition, the sacrament of the Last Supper is a remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross. The different denominations do not agree on the theology behind the actual substance of the bread and wine received. As a Catholic, I believe it to be, through the grace of God, the actual Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus being received each time in the Eucharist. The theology behind this can be tough to explain. The point of all this is that as Christians we understand that there are gifts that we receive that can't possibly be imitated. In class, there was a discussion on how consuming food was this great gift. I would not recommend a Sacramental approach to food. I would recommend however that there needs to be a greater care for food and how we consume because of the great gift it is. Christians must once again be at the front of the change in the world's perception of food. It is a gift, not anything we deserve, only through the love of God do we have it.

Power of voice

In class we talked about how in the book of Genesis God gave man dominion over the world through words. The power of speech is another gift from God. A gift that should be utilized by man. Utilized by man in order to better care for the earth he has dominion over. The speech used given to man dominion, while simple, were more powerful than any other words ever. Simplicity and truth must be spoken in order to right the wrongs of the culture that has no care for the environment. Through this class I began to understand just how important and my voice is. My voice must be used for good and truth. When thinking about the environment I realize that my voice must be used to glorify God.

Ocean pollution

My senior year of high school I did a project on the great pacific garbage patch. This collection of garbage in the pacific ocean is as big as Texas. It is cause by this thing called an ocean gyre. The currents of the ocean flow in a way that keeps the trash in the center of the gyre. The trash is incredibly tough to pick up because the sun has disintegrated the plastic into small pieces. Over the past few years I have heard of a few ideas that were out there about how to pick up the garbage. There is still a garbage patch, no solution has been enacted. There are probably a number of smaller scale environmental issues that have been similarly put off. My question is why? What are we waiting for? The perfect solution isn't out there, inaction will not promote change. I write this questioning what is stopping change and how we can promote a culture of effecting positive change to the treatment of the environment, especially for Christians.

Litter

I have a problem, I hate trash.Everywhere I go I try to pick up all the trash. I don't have enough time to pick up all the trash I pass just on my walk to class. The lack of care somebody has to have to leave or drop trash intentionally really troubles me. In thinking through our time in class, we talked about the lack of respect we appear to have for the earth. I experience it every time I walk outside. There is constantly trash. The only potential solution to this appears to be changing the human perspective on the damages of littering. Knowledge and small changes can have a giant impact, I wish very bad that people would recognize that. I remember my freshmen year I had a idea for a organization combining cleaning up garbage and Christian ministry. After this class I realize that being a Christian means that I have a responsibility to care for the earth.

Animal Rights

Since high school i have wanted to work as a voice for animals. I once asked my mother why Humane Society commercials get more response than commercials raising money for starving children. Me being a kid, she made something up. She said that people feel less bad for humans because we are too close to the situation and cannot allow ourselves to picture someone we know hurting that bad. Animals are distant enough from us that emotion sets in. They are our family as well, and are generally more defenseless than humans. I have no idea if this is psychologically correct, but it makes sense to me.
Animals are the same as humans in my eyes. They, however, do not have a voice or a way to defend themselves from inhumane acts. They are caged, beaten, slaughtered, separated from their young, and killed slow painful deaths. We would never consider this ok to be done to humans, but most of society doesnt think twice about doing it to animals.

Zimbabwe

June 26th is my first day as a volunteer on a wildlife refuge in Zimbabwe. Just half an hour from Victoria falls, I will be able to experience a whole new lifestyle! I have wanted to travel far my whole life. My family often took summer trips to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and other close by areas. However, they live very much like us and Ive never experience culture shock or felt like i was learning much. In Zimbabwe, I will be staying in an enclosed park, but surrounded with volunteers from around the world. We will travel off site and experience local cuisine (the chef if a local that the IVHQ employed). They encourage traveling (in groups) off site, especially on weekends. I cannot wait to experience a whole new place, despite me still being somewhat sheltered while im abroad.

Turtle island "Facts"

The US has 6% of the worlds population yet consumes 1/3 of the worlds meat. American consumerism is out of control. We take and take without concern for where it is coming from or if we even need it. If we were to stop eating meat, world hunger could be significantly reduced, if not fixed. According to PETA, "2,400 gallons of water [is needed] to produce just 1 pound of meat. Only 25 gallons of water are required to grow 1 pound of wheat." Not only would this significantly help the water crisis throughout the world, we could feed many more people using less water. Meat is not required to  live a healthy life. The amount of meat american's eat is actually unhealthy and results in heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. If we were to cut our consumption, the world would be better for it. 

Punctuation- other reading

Todd Wynward discusses the importance of punctuation. Commas, apostrophes, and capitalization all change the meaning of sentences. His first example is he "eats shoots and leaves" versus, he "eats, shoots and leaves". The first means that the bear will consume bamboo leaves and shoots, while the second means that the bear will eat something, then shoot a gun and leave. There was recently a court case that ruled in favor of laborers due to the lack of an Oxford comma, leaving their duties too general, thus they deserved overtime for certain tasks. Had the Oxford comma been present, the courts would have sided with the corporation and the workers would not have been granted the extra pay for their labor.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/15/health/oxford-comma-maine-court-case-trnd/

ecological genes- Einsenburg

Ecological genes are those genes leftover from wilderness times. They can be found in dogs, cats, and humans, to name a few. Pets, though domestic and not in need of many of these traits, still act as if they are in the wild. Growing winter coats, shedding in the summer, burying waste and bones, and walking in circles before laying down are all unnecessary in houses. During was used to save food or hide their scent to prevent prey from finding them. Circling was used to pat down leaves and make a bed for themselves. Humans have teeth that are now unneeded, appendix's and tonsils are also unnecessary but have not disappeared because they do not harm us. Without causing harm, there is not natural selection occurring so our genes stay the same.

Safe Water

It is commonly believed that clean water is not an issue in the United States. Clean water is an issue everywhere. A common example is the Flint River Water Crisis. These people do not get clean water because the city was in debt so the State take a number of short cuts so as to lessen the financial burden. If the city had not been in debt caused by Ford downsizing, shortcuts would not have been used. It is also worth noting that the well water at my house does not pass inspection. We go to a restaurant and get a cup of water to send in. Our water is fine for drinking and has never gotten us sick, but the State has such strict rules that most well water does not pass. They want people to pay for city water.

Walls and Security- Eisenburg

I understand the idea of walls protecting us. However, most of the time I would prefer openness. Even being outside of walls can feel as though you are trapped. Trees and mountains can provide a sense of security while outdoors. Given the option, nature providing me security is preferred to walls. While camping, a tent while sleeping is the only safety I want. This only serves as a prevention of getting soaked from rain and being eaten alive from bugs. While I'm not sleeping I prefer to stay out in the open and experience nature.

Planet Management- Eisenburg

Obviously neither fetisher's nor manager's technique would work for the entire planet. To start, fetishers want to isolate nature and allow no human interaction. This almost counteracts their intentions of preserving nature. If we were to isolate it then humans would be condensed into huge cities with concrete everywhere. This would take a toll on human health. Managers also do not have a foolproof plan. They want to use human-made science to fix any change in the environment. Natural changes occur and most do not need human intervention because they will balance themselves out. Using science (chemicals, artificial insemination, food programs) is counterintuitive.

Eco-apocolypse -Wirzba

Wirzba makes the idea of eco-apocalypse sound far fetched, only relating it to fiction. I strongly disagree. While we will not wake up to 90% of the population having contracted a horrible disease, it has happened in the past when Native Americans met Europeans. Thanks to globalization this is unlikely to happen again. What is more likely is a number of small environmental changes that equal a large change in human life. Raising ocean levels will cause small Pacific Islands to disappear, Norfolk to relocate, and thousands of homes to be destroyed. Changing weather will cause agriculture to suffer. Lack of food causes civil war and turmoil between cities, states and countries. Among other changes, climate change is already leading us down a path toward an eco-apocalyptic life.

Narrating the World- Wirzba

Wirzba states that "the way we name and narrate the world determines how we are going to live within it". I agree with this. In my communications class we went over phonetics and learned that words with a general 'harsh' sound relate to negative, pointy, and hard words. 'Triangle' is a harsh/strong sounding word and it relates well to what we have named a triangle. Three harsh points and three straight lines. Also, if we narrate something has being a positive experience before it happens, we are more likely to enjoy it. Conversely, if we think if something as being bad before it does happen, we are less likely to enjoy it when the time comes.

Oh water - Turtle Island

Water is such a wonderful symbol.  It is powerful, cleansing, pure, and life-giving.  This poem starts with a call to water, asking it to “wash me.” Isn’t it so true that one of water’s most basic functions is to wash.  I would argue that next to hydrating, that is its key function. Other images in this poem are mountains humming and crumbling, and again with the water but this time as snow melting.  It ends saying “earth, great, sangha.”  I looked up to find that sangha means a Buddhist community of holy people and laity.  I think it is nice word to end on because like the sangha combines different types of people, our earth combines many kinds of creatures. Event the water itself is similar in its many uses and forms.  In thinking about my own relationship with water, I have to say that I love it.  Though I am scared of what lies in the deep waters of the oceans, I am mesmerized by the sound of waves, the elegance of waterfalls, and the calming presence of even small ponds.  Being around water, whether it be in the ocean or a shower, is just rejuvenating.  Its properties are pure and clean, and so it is such a prominent symbol and tool in religions as well.  

Pine Tree Tops - Turtle Island

This poem is simple and beautiful.  It is also on one of my favorite subjects – trees.  The poem starts by describing the night, which is blue and glowing.  The image here is one of peace and comfort, as opposed to a black, harsh night.  The trees are said to bend and fade, and in my mind, melt into the horizon.  This reminds me of the time I went into the Shenandoah valley to camp in a cabin with my family. From the valley, the tree tops created a vibrant blue in the Blue Ridge Mountains and intertwined to create one giant blanket of leaves.  The poem ends with the lines, “rabbit tracks, deer tracks, what do we know.”  This was a very powerful ending to me.  It speaks to the fact that though we can see things, we often do not know them.  And even when we think we know something, how can we be sure of it?  Like the tracks described in the poem, we as people cannot fully understand them. We can tell what animal they are from and tell the general direction of where they are going, but we will never know what it is like to be an animal among nature.  They have a sacred place in nature, as do we, but it is more primitive I might say.  They wander, search for food, mate, and are fueled by instinct.  We as people make tracks and wander in our calculated human ways. We rarely just wander in the woods to wander.  We rarely take the time to actually see what is around us and appreciate nature.  I find myself only reflecting on the tree tops from the valley that I saw because of this poem, I needed a reminder.  I was not able to simply wander and appreciate like the animals.  We can learn a lesson from them and truly by preset in whatever moment we are in and take nature for all it is worth, wandering and truly immersing ourselves into it. 

Control Bun - Fire

The poem “Control Burn” in Turtle Island discusses fire and its role in conjunction with the land. It is
described as “an old story” and “a hot clean burn,” phrases that tell of an ancient power. I like this
poem because of the imagery it uses and how it paints a story of fire being a force of both destruction
and life. Fire is said out all of the old growth, burning the land and wiping it clean. Bu at the same time,it is in this destruction that new life comes. For it is only under the right circumstances, after the
old/dead growth is gone, can new life take root. These images and this concept made me think about
Jesus’ parable about the vine and the fruit, where He says that those who are faithful will be pruned so it bears more fruit, demonstrating the necessity sometimes of cutting off in order to grow even more.

This also made me think about how this concept is present in nature. In many ways, nature is more
logical than humans. If a plant is growing a bad part, it lets it die and fall off, and then thrives all the
more without it. People, on the other hand, are ruled by emotions and feelings, and so we would never do such a thing. In fact, we often keep things around us that are not good for us or have extremely detrimental effects. For example, staying in a bad relationship or not treating our bodies right. I have now strayed a bit from the poem that first sparked these thoughts. But to come back to it, I conclude that it was a nice reminder of the power of nature, particularly fire, and the lessons we can learn from it.