Trash day…I always find myself looking at all the garbage I amassed during the week and am horrified. All of the pre-packaged food in plastic containers. Laundry detergent bottles. That stuff ends up in a landfill where I don’t think it exactly biodegrades anytime too soon.
Yes, I think I try too hard to separate my recyclables from my trash. I recycle as much plastic as I can. I take all my newspapers and office papaer to a special recycling dumpster at my church that serves a second purpose as a fundraiser. I take plastic bags and wrappings to work at Kohl's with me, where we have a recycling bin for such things. Last fall I even made a day of participating in Erie County’s free computer and electronics drop off.
But these obsessive views on recycling were challenged, even changed, by one man’s story in the November 2008 issue of Best Life Magazine.
Donovan Webster traveled into the heart of the Zone of Alienation in Ukraine. This is the storied site where the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had its fateful meltdown in spring of 1986. The surrounding countryside is home to the ghost town of Prypiat, and is still “hot” with nuclear waste. His photos alone speak a thousand words—from the haunting, rusty old ferris wheel in the city center to the decaying apartment towers and hotels in downtown.
After all his observations, Webster concluded:
“…when humans talk about “saving the environment,” they’re overlooking the fact that the environment is going to be fine. The earth’s force of life remains robust—and is always there...waiting. Instead, it’s the future of humans that requires our work and protection. But the earth itself? It’s gonna be okay.”
Webster is reflecting upon the fact that in about 22 short years since a manmade catastrophe of Armageddon proportions devastated this region, man’s departure has allowed nature to reclaim that which belongs to it. True, radiation is still dangerously high. There have been reports of mutated animals hawking extra limbs and trees with dinner-plate sized leaves. But nature has made a pretty quick rebound on this once-hopeless seeming region.
As someone who subscribes to a Biblical worldview, I’m left wondering where the Christian stands in all of this environmental debate that has filled mainstream media lately. I don’t believe that the earth is reeling toward mass warming (although a little more heat in Buffalo wouldn’t hurt!). From a Bible perspective, in Genesis 1:28 God charges man to “…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” In other words, be a good steward of the environment you are given.
So where does one strike that balance—the place between utilizing our God-given resources to better mankind, while also doing what we can to preserve the environment we’ve been given responsibility over?
I try not to be fanatical about recycling, organic farming, etc. I see much of this “green” movement as the latest marketing hoopla (like low carb was about 4-5 years ago). I’m trying to be a responsible steward of the environment, making use of recycling facilities and other services that are (forgive the cliché) at my disposal. I suppose this is a dynamic area within my own worldview.
Yes, I think I try too hard to separate my recyclables from my trash. I recycle as much plastic as I can. I take all my newspapers and office papaer to a special recycling dumpster at my church that serves a second purpose as a fundraiser. I take plastic bags and wrappings to work at Kohl's with me, where we have a recycling bin for such things. Last fall I even made a day of participating in Erie County’s free computer and electronics drop off.
But these obsessive views on recycling were challenged, even changed, by one man’s story in the November 2008 issue of Best Life Magazine.
Donovan Webster traveled into the heart of the Zone of Alienation in Ukraine. This is the storied site where the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had its fateful meltdown in spring of 1986. The surrounding countryside is home to the ghost town of Prypiat, and is still “hot” with nuclear waste. His photos alone speak a thousand words—from the haunting, rusty old ferris wheel in the city center to the decaying apartment towers and hotels in downtown.
After all his observations, Webster concluded:
“…when humans talk about “saving the environment,” they’re overlooking the fact that the environment is going to be fine. The earth’s force of life remains robust—and is always there...waiting. Instead, it’s the future of humans that requires our work and protection. But the earth itself? It’s gonna be okay.”
Webster is reflecting upon the fact that in about 22 short years since a manmade catastrophe of Armageddon proportions devastated this region, man’s departure has allowed nature to reclaim that which belongs to it. True, radiation is still dangerously high. There have been reports of mutated animals hawking extra limbs and trees with dinner-plate sized leaves. But nature has made a pretty quick rebound on this once-hopeless seeming region.
As someone who subscribes to a Biblical worldview, I’m left wondering where the Christian stands in all of this environmental debate that has filled mainstream media lately. I don’t believe that the earth is reeling toward mass warming (although a little more heat in Buffalo wouldn’t hurt!). From a Bible perspective, in Genesis 1:28 God charges man to “…fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” In other words, be a good steward of the environment you are given.
So where does one strike that balance—the place between utilizing our God-given resources to better mankind, while also doing what we can to preserve the environment we’ve been given responsibility over?
I try not to be fanatical about recycling, organic farming, etc. I see much of this “green” movement as the latest marketing hoopla (like low carb was about 4-5 years ago). I’m trying to be a responsible steward of the environment, making use of recycling facilities and other services that are (forgive the cliché) at my disposal. I suppose this is a dynamic area within my own worldview.
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