Thought for the week
SAVING the Blue Planet? We cannot fail to be touched by scientists’ reports at the recent UN Climate Change summit concerning the ‘destruction of the seas and polar caps’. Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg, was equally forthright: ‘All you can talk about is money, and fairy tales of eternal economic growth.’…’with today’s emissions levels, the remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone in less than 8½ years.’
It’s easy to shy away from a message of doom and gloom. But there are so many positive steps we can each take to protect the environment. Increasingly we meet people who are cutting car use, avoiding plastic packaging or reducing energy consumption; and rightly so. We can no longer behave as consumers. We have a responsibility to nurture the planet that is our home.
The ancient spiritual writers offer a helpful reminder that as inhabitants of the earth, we are part of something precious with a worthwhile purpose that is greater than just satisfying our own desires.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. (Psalm 24:1-4)
Our world is awesome in its diversity, its beauty, its cycle of birth and regrowth. So many of us are stunned by the beauty of the part of Wales that we live in. What can be more satisfying than joining with God’s creative energy to make sure that our seas are kept clean from plastic waste and the air that we breathe free from pollutants!
‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’ remain the key words. What are we going to do about it today?
Julia Bartholomew