‘God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”’Genesis1:27-28 [The Message Bible]
The 11pm news begins each night with the word ‘Trump’, to be followed by the news of more executive orders being signed by president Trump: allowing the Keystone XL pipeline to proceed, withdrawing from the TPP, advancing construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, paving the way to build the Mexican wall, etc., etc. This is a man who is first and foremost interested in the bottom line. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked over the 20,000 for the first time on January 25 because of those orders, it was obvious that many others agreed with him.
I found myself thinking that all was lost, that my grandchildren and their children would inherit a planet that was no longer capable of supporting human life. How could I, at my age and stage of life, even be expected to do anything that would impact what I saw happening. How could I, and the thousands or million like me, even begin to counteract such sweeping changes?
Hmmmmmm…….Trump and those like him are driven by the lust for money. So if these pipelines , for instance, no longer promised $$$$ in return, they would be of no or little interest. So the obvious way to stop these environmentally unfriendly projects is to make them less financially attractive by replacing them with Eco-friendly devices. While I don’t have the expertise and knowledge necessary to build environmentally-friendly power-producing machines myself, I can reduce my usage of fossil fuels, electricity and my impact on the planet as much as possible.
While I have always composted and recycled, while I drive a hybrid car, and attempt to keep lights turned off, I am not doing all I could. Do I only use the clothes dryer after 7 pm? NO! Do I only buy locally grown fruits and vegetables? Sometime, when it’s convenient. Do I turn the temperature down when out of the apartment during the day? NO! Will doing these things stop everything Trump is doing? NO, they won't.
But if everyone of us who is committed to fulfilling the call in Genesis, who wants the planet to sustain human life in 7 generations, were to become really serious about reducing our carbon footprint significantly on this planet, we could, together, impact things like electrical usage and reliance on fossil fuels. The less we use these fuels, the less financially attractive they become to big business.
I now have a rallying cry for my environmental efforts. Every time I hear "Trump, Trump, Trump" (which I suspect will be frequently), it will strengthen my resolve to conserve, to recycle, to live a leaner life in terms of fuel consumption.
Want to join me?
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