The Town of Odyssey

GO GREEN! Holding God's creation dear, or "Mother Nature" cult?

Discuss.

It's weird, because I come from a very earthy, liberal place in the world, so recycling and reducing waste and taking care of the Earth makes sense to me. I remember severe droughts in California when we had to limit showers and flushes. It would seem like we would want to take as much care of this gift we've been given as we can! I do not at all understand the people that don't want to conserve our planet. And I know this isn't everyone that comes from the view opposite mine, but it seems some people want to use up the planet to bring Jesus back sooner.

So, in conclusion, climate change is a real thing and yes I have hugged trees.

I agree 100% with Darcie.

And personally I think it's shame that a lot of Christians have given up this issue or consider it a "liberal" issue. We are stewards of this planet and we're doing a terrible job.

John Chrysostom wrote:...Christians have given up this issue or consider it a "liberal" issue.

Well, you know, if they like it, I have to hate it and vice versa.

I actually agree with you guys on something, for once! I would call myself an "environmentalist," but I do separate myself from the "radical environmentalists." I believe that we as Christians definitely have a responsibility to take care of the planet God has given us. We've been given dominion over it, and while that means that we can use it as we see fit, that doesn't give us license to abuse it. Recycling and conserving are great things to do, as long as they are kept in the right perspective. Once you start calling the earth "Mother Earth" though, it may have become a problem, possibly leading to idolatry. We are always to worship the Creator over the creation and not put the creation on a higher pedestal than it deserves.

Okay, it seems like we're in general agreement that we need to be more environmentally friendly. What are some ways we can do that? Either personally or as a society?

Let's bring petroleum into the mixture and allow all the Albertans to organise a witch hunt

I also agree with what has been posted so far, especially with what Darcie said, possibly exempting climate change, depending on what she means by that. I'm not particularly educated on the subject, however, and I'm not prepared to offer reliable statistics and data. :/

How do we decide what "reasonable" pollution levels are? Obviously it would be nice to have the earth be free of 100% of pollutants, but that isn't feasible, and environmental laws and taxes stifle production and the economy.

What would be acceptable pollution levels to you? And don't we have to be willing to give up some profit and efficiency for the environment? I mean are we really only interested in the bottom line?

Unfortunately I am not well researched enough in this to explain acceptable pollution levels from my opinion, which is why I asked. I hoped that someone who had studied this more would be able to make a case for certain pollutant levels and shed more light on the matter for me.

And, yes, I definitely think that some profit has to be sacrificed in order to protect the environment. What I want to stress is that restricting pollution does cut into profits, and at an exponential rate. I'm not claiming it would be better overall for America if these restrictions were not put into place, my point is that all environmental restrictions have a definite cost, and at some point this cost cannot be worth it.

T.S. (myself) wrote:... possibly exempting climate change, depending on what she means by that. I'm not particularly educated on the subject, however, and I'm not prepared to offer reliable statistics and data. :/

I mean that the pollution of the environment has led to shifts in climate. Not "global warming" because this is a misnomer. The entire world is not getting warmer. The climate, however, is changing in a way that could lead to major disaster if not slowed. Again, I'm a liberal hippie. And I live in California. And I'm older than you, and the climate has changed in my lifetime. So there.
One recent article: http://news.sciencemag.org/2013/07/east ... le-thought

Yeah, we need to protect the earth and stop consuming. This is a fact.

...also, maybe this topic should be in Finneman's because... we should all talk about this.

I’m all for conservation, but environmentalism makes me hate humanity.

I don't know that there has ever been a more appropriate time to use this emoticon.

This is what I mean when I say I'm somewhat okay with being called an environmentalist--but only somewhat, because of people like this, whom I would call the extremely radical environmentalists.

Could we take the video for what it is, extreme environmentalist doing something that isn't helpful? I mean the video itself said they were extremist.

Obviously mourning the death a tree doesn't help, what kind of conservation should we be engaged in bookworm?

Christian A. what actions should we be taking as people who are concerned about the environment, to a proper extent?

Everyone seems to be saying, oh these people have taken it too far we should never be like that. Well no duh, we shouldn't be like this video but what are some positive examples of what would be proper?

I think many examples have already been listed. We do have a responsibility to actually care about the world God gave us, not just go about our days as if nothing should be done to preserve its welfare. Recycling, conservation of materials, keeping the areas that we own presentable, as well as those of any people we can help. I'm not educated enough to know what kinds of things the government can be doing to reduce pollution and such, but I think we as individuals can do small things every day that will go a long way.

I think we are all in agreement in what we should do but actually doing it is an entirely different thing.

We love the idea until these environmental decisions start affecting our lives. There is a reason why America, being one of the largest polluters, did not sign an agreement to cut back our pollution. When we start to lose jobs because of stricter regulations, we start hollering for more domestic jobs. Why may I ask those of you who have a car don't drive an electric (assuming you don't). Well, its not cheap to buy and the battery disposal is expensive. Oil is still one of the most reliable energy sources we have, which is why we continue to use it.

I agree there are areas we need to conserve but there are areas I will not and neither will society as a whole because it is inconvenient or costly.