Whew!
It's been a busy couple of days. I'm going to break down my thoughts from the 'Radical Abundance, theology of sustainability' conference into a couple of posts so it's not so overwhelming. I've got a lot to think about!
The entire experience had the dual overtones of hope and urgency. Urgency because we know that we don't have much time. The era of our dependency on oil is coming to an end, whether we like it or not-- there simply isn't enough. The earth cannot continue to support a system that survives only by turning usable resources into toxic waste in order to make the rich richer, while the vast majority of the world's population suffer as the Earth's bounty is snatched from under their feet. America uses 25% of the worlds resources. On any given day, the city of New York uses as much energy as the entire continent of Africa. And the world's current crisis isn't simply an environmental one-- all of creation is languishing in injustice. 'The least of these', as Jesus called them, the poorest of the poor, are shouldering the heaviest ecological burden and have no voice to protest.
The picture is overwhelmingly grim. Everyone is negatively affected by injustice. We are not spiritually whole if we are separate from the universe that we were created as a part of, and we cannot be whole if we are separate from each other. Somehow, though, each presenter spoke with optimism. Despite the terrifying prospects and the unhappy present, my experience at the conference was filled with smiles. There was-- there is-- hope. Majora Carter spoke about her experience in the South Bronx-- an area in the poorest 5 congressional districts in the country. The neighborhood has a 25% unemployment rate, and 1/3 of the population is under the poverty line. It handles most of New York's solid waste and has several power plants. The children suffer from an asthma epidemic. It is a desolate place, with very little green space. But change is coming to the South Bronx-- through Majora Carter's organization, parks have been created, wetlands reclaimed, trees planted, and green-roofs installed. A program now exists that trains locals in the skills necessary for green jobs, and now those who had been unemployed and seemingly unemployable are reclaiming the Earth.
Good things happen.
Hey, Bethany! Ok, I'm ready to give some feedback here--time, time, you know. I heard Majora Carter on KFAI, and she was pretty awesome, I have to say. I'm gearing up for our summer garden, and trying to muster up the courage to approach some of my unknown neighbors (some we are real tight with) about gardening together, motivated by my own small space, not having our own yard.
ReplyDeleteI actually try to stay away from grim predictions these days. I find they are terribly demotivating for me. I think I already know enough to be working as hard as I can and longing for change in all kinds of ways. Not that I'm stopping learning, you see, but often I do turn off the news if you know what I mean.
lots of love,
libby