Sabbath Economics: The Environment

Justin and I are going through a book called "Sabbath Economics" with a group and I am very excited because it covers areas of great interest for me, and I can't believe it's all in one book... it seems to be almost everything I am passionate about right now (...almost)

Well first off, they do address Surplus Capital, Negative Debt, and Giving. Those are important and do interest me, but that's not what is getting me so excited!

I only have time to share about one chapter right now, but I will definitely share about the others later.

from the book:
"Chapter 4: The Environment
How can we make our households and lifestyles significantly “greener”?
Examples:
a. Do a household audit on waste, including recycling, toxic products, etc.
b. Look at energy usage, including driving, and aim to reduce by 10%.
c. Commit to growing something edible on a year round basis. "

~ This has been very important to me recently. Don't let the buzz deter you... "Global Warming" "The 11th Hour" "Inconvenient Truth" "Hybrids" "Green" "sustainable" and so on. Some people are already sick of hearing about it. Some people get so offended or annoyed by the this kind of talk. Why is that? Do they really think that this doesn't matter? or are they annoyed that they might have to consider changing their life style?

This became an even more important topic while we were in Peru. Our project was to restore a desert and provide life to those living there. We planted trees, started an eco-park, created water catchment systems, re-used old tires, composted, and much more.

It's a matter of thinking wisely, sustainably and caring about the environment in which our God has created. The creation is a revelation of God. Why would we not want to be good stewards of it? ... We don't have to worship nature, we don't have to be tree-huggers but we could think of ways to not exploit and rape the earth. We also need to think about generations ahead.

I am looking forward to reading this chapter ... we won't get to it for a while, but nonetheless excited! I am really glad that it is talked about as a serious matter in a Christian context. It is a common view that we don't need to care about the earth because "it will all burn one day" ... which I don't agree with. I can expand on that if need be. But for now, I'll end.