Out of the mouth of babes comes great wisdom. My classmate Anjali’s little daughter had accompanied her to my office when we met after a long time. As we sat speaking, the child sat in the foyer quietly, drawing something on a piece of paper. As they stood up to leave, she gifted it to me. On it was a sketch of me, complete with a toothcomb moustache, and below it scrawled: ‘Amma’s friend.’
Even as I thanked her for the gesture, I could not but notice the paper on which she had drawn it—the unused side of a page from a notebook. To my words of appreciation, Anjali replied that the child’s teacher in her London school had taught them about caring for the environment. “They are made to realise that even pencils are from trees, and you need to be sparse in sharpening them,” she said. That was the lesson of a lifetime for me.
We hardly notice the paper drifting through our lives every day—from bus tickets to currency notes to packing material. Did you know that newly cut trees account for 55 per cent—more than half—of the total supply of paper? Can we, as individuals, take small steps to lighten the load on our planet?
If a child can, what on earth is preventing us?
A few years ago, the Church of England published a set of green commandments. It suggested many lifestyle changes such as organising a car-sharing scheme for travelling to and from Sunday worship; reviewing of any floodlighting the church has and checking whether the bulbs are energy-efficient; cancelling “wasteful” junk mail; and helping a churchyard become a 'green lung' for the community.
Recently, the CSI Synod Ecological Committee listed a 12-point action plan to be pursued by community members “to strengthen the forces of life”. The church will not use plastic cups and bags for its functions. All parishes are requested to initiate organic vegetable gardens in their premises and encourage the use of smokeless chulas and solar lamps in households and institutions.
But caring for the environment is more than all these. It also involves a more equitable distribution of resources. There is always a squeeze on the environment when the number of jobless and the poor increase. For instance, when farm prices drop, farmers in poor countries slash and burn and do all within their means to increase production. “Thus resources are plundered, rainforests denuded, rivers polluted, coastal zone regulations violated, and fisheries exhausted.”
Caring for the environment could also mean doing your bit as part of civil society in decision-making, forcing governments to honour environmental commitments, joining marginalised groups in their protests, and so on. In the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, “For the church of the 21st century, good ecology is not an optional extra but a matter of justice. It is therefore central to what it means to be a Christian.”
Here are ten steps that I have gleaned from a number of sources. These
are in the form of commandments that we must think about, and can adopt and adapt in our lives.
1. You shall have a moral obligation to look after God’s creation. That includes “the dry land called Earth, and the waters that were gathered together called Seas; plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind; swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the dome of the sky, the great sea monsters and cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind” (Genesis).
2. You shall recognise that man does not have an absolute dominion over creation. You shall not forget the interdependence of all inhabitants of the earth. You shall not destroy the trees (forests) thereof by forcing an axe against them: for you may eat of them, and you shall not cut them down (Deuteronomy 20:19). This way you will also protect the tribal people for whom living in the forests is a way of life.
3. No economic activity shall be at the cost of natural capital. For instance, the cost of safeguarding the environment shall be included in the calculations of the overall costs of any project.
4. You shall recognise the primacy of man over technology. Remember the Sabbath day. Give rest to the land (you shall not exploit it), give a break to 24x7 production.
Therefore, you shall not consume more than you ought to, take more than what is necessary from the earth beneath, or that is in the water. This way your generations shall be blessed.
5. You shall buy stuff that will last longer, and reuse in creative ways. Try and avoid air conditioners, heaters, and washers. Reduce water consumption. Say no to plastic, unless absolutely necessary. Make use of paper or cloth bags instead.
6. You shall read newspapers and magazines online; reduce printing or photocopying unncessarily. Pay bills online and encourage online bulletins and newsletters wherever possible.
7. You shall change the light bulbs in your home and church to compact fluorescent light lamps (CFLs). Besides, you shall look at the government’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) standards when you buy appliances. Switch off lights and electric appliances when not in use.
8. You shall conserve fuel. Walk, or use the public transport to office at least once a week. You shall carpool as much as possible. Start with neighbours going to church together.
9. You shall plant a sapling. You shall also strive to dissuade farmers from using chemical pesticides, which kill microorganisms in the soil. Buy locally grown and organic vegetables.
10. You shall have a spiritual response to environmental questions. Create a green congregation. Make a mission statement for your church and implement it.
