Tagenvironment

It Turns Out that Christian Attitudes to the Environment are Not So Christian

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In 1967 a history professor from the University of California delivered a paper in which he argued the world’s environmental degradation had its roots in the Judeo-Christian notion of dominion. When the biblical text declared that humankind was to “rule” and “subdue” the earth it was mandating a view that creation exists to serve our interests. Lyn White was surely...

Face to face with a great white shark

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Today I found myself face to face with one of the greatest predators on earth: the great white shark. I was there by choice. All my life I have been fascinated by sharks, and I have dreamt for years of joining in a great white shark dive. So I found myself in Port Lincoln South Australia, aboard the Calypso Star, heading for the Neptune Islands where great whites feast on seals. Upon arrival the...

Australia Day. A Time to Laugh and a Time to Cry

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I find myself conflicted this Australia Day. Do I laugh or cry? On the one hand I am a proud Australian. I love this country. I love the fact that I can go to a footy match, sit beside supporters of my opponents, and feel perfectly safe. I love our self deprecating sense of humour, that calling a mate a “silly bastard” can be a compliment. I love the cultural diversity of our nation...

Why We Should Respectfully Ignore the Climate Sceptics

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Climate sceptics are entitled to their opinions but they are not entitled to pretend there is a scientific debate going on. They should be given the same accord in public debate and policy making that we give to those who argue children should not be vaccinated. I respect their right to their opinion but at the end of the day it is misinformed and dangerous nonsense that should be ignored by...

Watching the Reef Die

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The Great Barrier Reef is dying. It’s hard to believe but we are witnessing the decline of one of the great natural wonders of the world. Yesterday, the Queensland Government released a report that shows the health of the reef is now “poor”. A panel of independent scientists appointed to survey the evidence said: Globally, reefs and other coastal marine ecosystems are exposed to...

Like Lemmings to the Sea…On Our Sheer Climate Stupidity

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Somewhat unfairly, the small Arctic rodent, the lemming, has been thought prone to bouts of mass suicide. The same can now be said of humankind, although in our case the charge seems more accurate. Last month the World Bank released a report, Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must Be Avoided. In the formal tones of a bank report it shows the world is on track to be four degrees warmer by...

Creation Care. A Call to Action by the Lausanne Movement

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The Lausanne movement is a movement of evangelical Christians focussed on global mission. At a consultation earlier this month the movement issued a call to action on the environment. The full text is reproduced below. What do you think? Introduction The Lausanne Global Consultation on Creation Care and the Gospelmet from 29 Oct – 2 Nov 2012 in St. Ann, Jamaica to build on the creation care...

Why debating science won’t convince many climate sceptics

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It seems that scientific literacy has little to do with attitudes to climate change. Given all the major  scientific academies, most esteemed science journals, and major scientific bodies affirm the high probability that human actions are changing the climate, one might expect that the more scientifically literate a person is the more likely they will be to accept the scientific consensus. This...

There’s a Whole Lot More to Our Environmental Challenges Than Climate Change

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Listening to the public environmental discourse at the moment I hear a lot about climate change and little else. The reality is that climate change is but one of many serious environmental challenges confronting the world today. My attention was drawn to this by a 2009 paper “A Safe Operating Space for Humanity”. A collaborative effort by a group of leading earth scientists, the paper...

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