Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
(Part of the poem REMEMBER by Joy Harjo)
In building its history, humans have always sought to control nature and to do so have instrumentalized it, stripping it of its inherent creaturely dignity. With the industrial revolution and the adoption of the market system, our interference with the Earth has become increasingly dramatic, intensified by our technological advantages and the use of fossil fuels. Since the 18th century we have held this idea that humans “enhance” nature, and it must be tamed, as nature is “wild”. Forests have been seen as territories to be conquered, “transformed”, and “developed” more for their economic utility than for their intrinsic value.
Today, experts have concluded that the impact of human activity has been so devastating to terrestrial ecosystems that we are entering a new geological era called the Anthropocene, or the age of humans (Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer, 2000). Others speak of our having entered “terra incognito,” that is, a phase in the history of the earth’s evolution that humans have never before experienced. It is also claimed that since 1950 there has been a so-called “great acceleration” in human activity that has had an impact on the state and functioning of the Earth not seen in the last 12,000 years. UN scientific studies, for their part, have projected a drastic increase in global temperature in the next century, unless a limit is placed on the release of greenhouse gases.
Rigorous scientific researchers have drawn a clear conclusion: we are putting too much pressure on the planet. Over the last few decades, the rapid deterioration of nature, climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution of our Common Home have become increasingly evident, all due to direct human action. Human activity has become the decisive force behind climate and environmental change, which leads us to ask about the causes and consequences of this behavior.
We could argue that we have reached this point because of the separation we have created between the natural world and ourselves as a human species. Until now we had believed that nature was inferior to us. The truth is that just over 200 years ago, the German explorer Alexander Humboldt concluded that nature, of which we are a part, acts as a web of life, pointing out that the natural phenomena of the continents were closely related. He described nature as a living organism with diverse systems that communicated and regenerated harmoniously. In other words, he helped us to understand the order, beauty and interrelationship that exist within a nature that is not purely “wild”.
Over the past few decades, the efforts of environmentalists have attempted to convince the world that the climate crisis is real and has serious implications for the present and future of life on Earth; the evidence is irrefutable. The Church, for her part, recognizing the seriousness of this issue, has insisted on the need of forming an ecological conscience based on a sound theology of creation and redemption. Since the publication of Laudato Si in 2015, the reality of the environmental crisis and care for the Common Home continues to captivate the attention and imagination of believers in general and of Catholic institutions.
Not infrequently do we feel overwhelmed by the amount of information and opinions on environmental issues, such as global warming or the collapse of biodiversity, and it seems that the best response we can offer is passivity. Are ecological issues something we should be concerned about, from a religious point of view? If so, in what way should we do it? Whatever the answer may be, what is certain is that we are facing a real crisis, an uncomfortable truth (Cfr. A. Gore) that must be addressed. This is an urgent challenge, which Thomas Berry described in these words:
“Because of the enormous and devastating impact humanity has had on the entire planet, our vision of the future can be summarized in three premises:
- The glory of man has become the desolation of the earth.
- The desolation of the Earth is now our greatest shame and our greatest threat.
- From here on, the primary judgment of all human institutions, professions, programs and activities will be determined by the extent to which they inhibit, ignore, or foster a mutually enhancing human/Earth relationship”
“The desolation of the earth” clearly can be expressed in the following facts:
- The temperature of the planet has reached levels never seen before. Since 1880 global temperatures have increased by more than 1°C (1.8°F). Sixteen of the 17 years that have experienced record warming occurred during this century.
- The climate is becoming more and more extreme. Droughts and storms are becoming less predictable and more frequent due to the warming of the atmosphere and oceans.
- Nature is very sensitive to our actions. The biggest cause of climate change is human beings and his activity on the planet. It is a generalized impact on the oceans, on natural water cycles, on the reduction of snow and ice, on the rise of sea levels and on many extreme weather phenomena. Human action has further exacerbated the rate of species extinction and biodiversity loss in the present time.
- According to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are currently some 5,200 species in danger of extinction, representing 25% of mammals and amphibians, 34% of fish, 20% of reptiles and 11% of birds. Every year the list of extinct and endangered species grows longer: some emblematic, others little known, but all very important for the balance of ecosystems. Many of the species even disappear without even being known to exist. Some scientists indicate that a sixth mass extinction is already underway (Cfr. Abel G.M. National Geographic).
- Without urgent action, the situation will only get worse. It is very clear that if humans continue to burn fossil fuels, cut down their forests and engage in activities that generate and release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, our planet could experience a climate similar to that seen before human civilization arose.
Thanks to our scientific understanding of the world and the growing ecological awareness prompted by Laudato Si, this is a reality that challenges us to find new ways of approaching our vocation, and our Redemptorist mission in today’s world. The way we conceive our faith, and our mission necessarily has practical implications in our world, and therefore, to allow the Christian faith to be divorced from our responsibility to the Planet would be to betray the vocation we have received as Christians and as religious.
The current ecological crisis is an uncomfortable truth that is difficult to ignore; it is a truth that we need to hear and make known. It is in this context that Laudato Si represents not only a moral but also a spiritual compass pointing the way forward as we listen to the cry of Creation. What is important, in the midst of this reality, is to recognize “The urgent challenge to protect our common home … bringing the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. ” (LS 13).
Our challenge in the face of this reality lies, first of all, in bringing it out into the open. One of our main challenges as baptized and religious, is to reframe the conventional narrative of science, politics and economics about the ecological crisis as a moral and spiritual narrative. Therein lies our role and our greatest contribution to the ecological issue. In our ministry, for example, as we listen to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, we will need to reposition the Scriptures, our theological tradition and our missionary ministry to restore dignity to the created world and to restore our relationships with the Creator.
Questions for dialogue
- Have you ever thought about the resources that run our homes and buildings? Or how food, energy, and water are produced and delivered to our homes?
- Have you ever thought about the resources that are thrown away? Where do they end up when we throw them away?
- Have you ever thought about the impact our consumption habits have on the planet?
The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In my parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish. Industrial waste and chemical products utilized in cities and agricultural areas can lead to bioaccumulation in the organisms of the local population, even when levels of toxins in those places are low. Frequently no measures are taken until after people’s health has been irreversibly affected. (LS 21).
