Earth Day - Don't Mess with Mother Earth

We are sons and daughters of this planet,  like the mother who takes care of us, the earth offers us, what it takes for us to live – Air, Water and food.  

We are merely a strand in the scheme of things, as the Native American Chief Seattle puts it, “Chief Seattle, a Native American said this perfectly, “All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the webs, he does it to himself."

None of us can live by ourselves; we are all interconnected and interdependent. Our balance and survival depends on how well we take the responsibility to maintain it.   

On this Earth Day, I am pleased to share a few thoughts in the most simplistic language and ask you to become a contributor towards the well being of our mother.

Our caviler attitudes towards our environment amounts to messing up that delicate balance, the balance that keeps the seasons intact, the weather predictable, the right amount of energy from the Sun, the plants to produce oxygen,  the nights to refresh, the variety of nutrients to keep us healthy, the pure drinking water... if we mess that intricate balance, we screw ourselves out of life in the long haul.  

We understood the air pollution caused by carbon emissions from automobiles, factory stacks and other pollutants. Finally we came out of denial and are making serious efforts to reduce the pollution and restore the clean air.

To understand air pollution visit any fast growing city anywhere in the World, and I visited Bangalore, my Mother town,  where  each successive hour on the road, we blew the black stuff out of our noses, it was not a pleasant experience. What if it shortens the life span? I guess we can live with that, but what if it makes us eternally bedridden? Contrast that with New Delhi, where no gasoline run automobile is allowed within the City limits.  


Los Angeles and Houston were like that; we are leaning the importance of clean air and gaining some control, each one of us is a contributor towards the slow destruction or preservation of our mother. The smallest thing you can do is check your car emissions to see who you are.

We understood the pollution of underground and potable water, and we are making efforts to keep that water pristine, indeed most of the deaths in Asia and Africa are caused by water borne diseases. Watch out what you throw on the street; be good to the hands that feed you, the mother earth.

Imagine your home with heaps of garbage in it and the effect it will have on your health. The food, water, and air that give us life is a gift delivered through our mother. It is our responsibility and duty to take care of her.

With the climate change, global warming and improper disposal of trash we are hurting ourselves. Right now the garbage is dumped onto ocean through streams and drainage, the floating garbage is as big as Texas in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. There were 40 oil spills since the BP disaster and the Marine institute of Virginia claims 400 dead zones in coastal waters across the world.

We have to get a hold on this. Those who deny global warming and pollution must be given a tour of these places to learn firsthand and quit denying these.

What can you do? Just be conscious of what you throw and where you throw, throwing on the street amounts to throwing it in our own living room.

May we be guided to protect our own earth for our own good. Amen!
 

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MikeGhouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he writes weekly at Dallas Morning News and regularly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blog www.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily. 

Texas Faith: Are humans to serve the Earth? Or is the Earth to serve humans?

This week's question comes from a suggestion by panelist Daniel Kanter and it follows up on remarks that Rick Santorum made recently in speeches and on TV about the environment. Here is an excerpt from Santorum's February 19 appearance on CBS' Face the Nation:

"Man is here ...to care for the Earth, to be a steward of the Earth. But we're not here to serve the Earth. The Earth is not the objective. Man is the objective. And-I think a lot of radical environmentalists have it upside down."

Previously, Santorum made similar comments in Colorado, where he reportedly said:

"We were put on this Earth as creatures of God to have dominion over the Earth, to use it wisely and steward it wisely, but for our benefit not for the Earth's benefit."

Santorum followed up his observations in Colorado with comments about climate change. But I'm not interested in a debate about the pros-and-cons of that subject for this week. Rather, I would like to hear your answer to this philosophical and theological question:

Is man here to serve the Earth? Or is the Earth here to serve man?

Read on to hear what our panelists think about this issue, which goes to the heart of the religion-and-politics nexus.

MIKE GHOUSE, President, Foundation for Pluralism, Dallas

Our species is the first one among others to have mastered the furies of nature and survive against odds, unlike the dinosaurs and other species that did not.

The planet Earth has stability and balance built into it, and placed on a precise trajectory to revolve around the solar system. However, the earth can be thrown off its dynamic equilibrium with global warming, nuclear explosions and other man-made activities that are foreign to Earth's nature.

If the senator had attended science classes, he would have known how fertile lands have become deserts, or how irresponsible management of waste can cause our water to be destructive to health, and how the soil erosions (alluvial) can rob food productivity.

If we don't take care of mother Earth, she would deprive us of her fruits. It is a mutually respectful relationship with Earth, and not a Bam, slam, thank you maam kind of relationship.

I want to kill the stereotyping stamped on Republicans as men with a deficit in long-term thinking. The presidential candidates are a minority among us, just like in any group. They do not reflect the majority of moderate Republican men and women who understand science and nature and care for fellow beings. I am a moderate Republican and I am proud of it.

Indeed, we are all a part of one interconnected and interdependent system. Keeping its equilibrium is our responsibility for our own survival as a part of the whole.

Chief Seattle, a Native American, said it perfectly; "All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the webs, he does it to himself."

Carl Sagan adds, "We succeeded in taking that picture [from deep space], and, if you look at it, you see a dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever lived, lived out their lives... every inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam."

We are a merely a strand in the cosmic whole. Earth will not be there for man, if man becomes a user and abuser of mother Earth. Man was given the intelligence to manage the affairs of the planet to the mutual benefit of its entire inhabitant and the web it inhabits.

To read all responses at Dallas Morning News, go to:http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/02/texas-faith-are-humans-to-serv.html

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Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer and his work is linked to thirty blogs and four websites indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net