Earth Day 2009 - Going Deeper Green

Earth Day, which always falls on April 22, has become a worldwide cultural icon, described by some as “the largest secular holiday in the world.” The first Earth Day was held in the United States in 1970, after concerns about the environmental effects of rising population growth and oil spills off the California coast galvanized public opinion. Now more than 500 million people and governments in some 175 countries around the globe celebrate Earth Day in a wide range of ways.

Should supporters of CPJ celebrate Earth Day? And if so, how?

CPJ describes itself as an organization that “encourages citizens, leaders in society and governments to support policies and practices which reflect God’s call for love, justice and stewardship.” As a faith-based organization, CPJ should come to the ecological debate with a healthy dose of humility.

Humility will allow us to develop a better understanding of our role in creation. For far too long, humans have felt that creation is theirs, not God’s, and that we are free to dominate or subjugate nature (Genesis 1.28). With the scientific revolution, this mentality became especially stark. Francis Bacon, the father of the scientific method, spoke of wresting knowledge from nature’s womb, of penetrating her mysteries to subdue her, all to make nature the scientist’s slave. David Hume went so far as to call for the “torture” of nature to reveal its secrets. And René Descartes lauded reason, which made it possible for man “to become masters and possessors” of nature.

Today, the more we learn about the interconnectedness of creation, the less we feel we can (or should) seek to control one small part of it. Awe, reverence and gratitude become the more appropriate and healthier attitudes.

Responding to the crisis

Theologian Daniel Maguire has said, “If current trends continue, then we will not.” An organization interested in God’s love, justice and stewardship must speak to the ecological crisis, or risk becoming an “obsolete distraction.”

When we come to celebrate Earth Day, we see that there are many ways to respond. Earth Day Canada’s website suggests ten activities, from “smart shopping” to “bathroom basics.” But we know that since 1986, humans have been using more of the planet’s resources than the ecology is able to regenerate. In effect, we are stealing from our children’s futures. The dire predictions of the crisis of global warming are already creating hardship for the poorer members of the global community. Simply changing light bulbs or recycling may not be enough action to take should we care to face the enormity of what lies before us.

Earth Day is sometimes criticized for being a “light green” response to the ecological crisis. “Light green” responses are those that environmentalists refer to as the three R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle), summarized as better resource management.

But we must accept the challenge to go deeper: CPJ seeks to encourage Canadians to address the issue of how we view the world, and our own place in it, should we want to promote real change – the change that is so urgently needed. A “deeper green” response can be described as one of ecological justice.

Ecological justice questions not only the social order, but also the distribution of nature’s resources among humans and even future generations. This response is capable of identifying how certain social groups are particularly disadvantaged by environmental destruction: how the poor live closer to pollution, how they are less likely to be protected from environmental damage caused by industry, how they cannot afford to adapt to climate change and other emerging threats.

A third characterization of responses has been described as the “dark green” option. Here, movements often associated with “deep ecology,” try to develop responses beyond social justice among human beings to a broader “Earth ethics.” These “dark green” responses to the ecological crisis invite us to consider ourselves as part of the “Earth community” where the place of the human being is no longer one of dominance and control over other life. This perspective demands acknowledgement of the marvelous interrelatedness of life, all of which deserves respect.

A recent article categorized responses of Christians to the environmental crisis in four ways. A minority saw an emphasis on “creation care” as insidious, wanting no part of it. Others saw it as irrelevant. A majority saw it as incidental, that is, secondary to other things. A final group perceived care for the environment as integral to their lives.

The environment is an integral concern in all we do, and CPJ encourages all to take up the challenge on April 22, whether you celebrate the birthday of that first environmentalist (Francis of Assisi) or engage in local Earth Day activities. Whatever you do, accept the challenge to go deeper in the days that follow.