June 2010
.jpg)
From the
coast of Louisiana we now have the poignant image of a majestic pelican
drenched in oily sludge. It’s
an odd looking bird with a foot long bill and a pouch for catching fish as she
skims over the surface of the sea.
She lives among the trees and sea grass along the water’s edge, nests in
the bull rushes and feeds her young from the abundant sea life.
The
brown pelican has survived near extinction by hunters, fishermen and industrial
polluters and was only recently removed from the federal endangered species
list. Now the bird’s future is
seriously challenged by a man made catastrophe that is sending millions of
gallons of oil to pollute the waters, coastal islands, marshes and beaches of
the Gulf of Mexico. The
brown pelican is uniquely at risk because it dives under water to forage. They are eating tainted fish and feeding
them to their young. Their feathers are oil-soaked; they are now susceptible to
hypothermia and drowning. "They're
still just clinging to existence," said David Ringer, of the National
Audubon Society. Pelican Island,
so named because so many of the great birds once nested there, now has only a
couple of brown pelicans gliding above the water in their constant hunt for
fish. Also at risk are a dozen species listed by the federal government as
endangered or threatened, including birds, sea turtles, dolphins and whales.
In
what is being described as the latest ‘ecological disaster’ we quickly see just
how delicate the balance of nature really is. Oil spilling into the ocean pollutes water, contaminates the
sea bed, poisons fish and other sea life, threatens extinction of species,
endangers birds, and disrupts the livelihood of fleets of fishermen and the
countless businesses dependent on their commerce. The long and spiraling catastrophic effects of this man made
‘accident’ should cause us to ask questions about our relationship with the
earth and her resources.
The
Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew of Constantinople, is an internationally
respected ecologist and environmentalist.
In response to this, the latest man contrived assault on our planet; the
Patriarch has drafted the following encyclical against our continued
exploitation of the Earth.
|
Sins Against Nature
and God:
We Are All Accountable for Ignoring the Global Consequences of Environmental
Exploitation
Once again, in a matter only of a few years, the eyes of the world are turned
with suspense toward the Gulf Coast. Sadly, the oil spill is following a path
similar to Hurricane Katrina and threatening the coast of Louisiana as well
as neighboring states.
As citizens of God's creation, we perceive this monumental spill of crude oil
in the oceans of our planet as a sign of how far we have moved from the
purpose of God's creation. Our immediate reaction is to pray fervently for
the urgent and efficient response to the current crisis, to mourn painfully
for the sacrifice of human life as well as for the loss of marine life and
wildlife, and to support the people and communities of the region, whose
livelihood directly depends on the fisheries of the Gulf.
But as the first bishop of the world's second-largest Christian Church, we
also have a responsibility not only to pray, but also to declare that to
mistreat the natural environment is to sin against humanity, against all
living things, and against our creator God. All of us -- individuals,
institutions, and industries alike -- bear responsibility; all of us are
accountable for ignoring the global consequences of environmental
exploitation. Katrina -- we knew -- was a natural calamity. This time -- we
know -- it is a man-made disaster. One deepwater pipe will impact millions of
lives in several states as well as countless businesses and industries.
Therefore, we must use every resource at our disposal to contain this
disaster. But we must also use every resource to determine liability for the
fact that 11 people have died and 5,000 barrels of oil are flowing daily into
the delicate ecology of the Gulf of Mexico. In exchange for the benefits and
wealth generated by deep underwater drilling, individuals, institutions, and
industries assume responsibility for protecting the earth and its creatures
from the well-known potential hazards. In this instance, they have clearly
failed in those responsibilities; that failure must be acknowledged and
strong measures taken to avert future catastrophes.
Although we are halfway around the world from this incident, our interest in
it is deeply personal. We visited Louisiana and its bayous only four months
after its devastation by Hurricane Katrina and we returned there just last
October to convene our Eighth Religion, Science, and the Environment
Symposium, "Restoring Balance: The Great Mississippi," in New
Orleans. At that time, we noted:
Although the time we have been on the planet is insignificant in the context
of the life of the planet itself, we have reached a defining moment in our
story. Let us remember that, whoever we are, we all have our part to play,
our sacred responsibility to the future. And let us remember that our
responsibility grows alongside our privileges; we are more accountable the
higher we stand on the scale of leadership. Our successes or failures,
personal and collective, determine the lives of billions. Our decisions,
personal and collective, determine the future of the planet.
In the spirit of responsibility, the White House and certain Congressional
leaders have declared that, before beginning new offshore drilling for oil,
there must be greater understanding of the environmental impact and
responsibility for such endeavors. We support this approach. For, as
confident as interested parties were that a disaster like this could not
occur because of watertight controls and fail-safe mechanisms installed,
those controls and mechanisms failed, with the horrific results we witness
unfolding each day.
Until such understanding and responsibility have been determined, may God
grant us all the strength to curtail the spill, the resources to support the
region, and the courage to make the necessary changes so that similar
tragedies may be avoided in the future.
|
|
|
In the
wake of the Gulf disaster we can call out with the Psalmist, “I am
like a pelican in the wilderness. I have become as an owl in the waste places.”
Psalm 102:6. There is a call for the government to
re-place the brown pelican on the endangered species list. Scientists intend to study the effects
of the spill on pelican reproduction.
Placing them back on the list will become necessary as their food supply
is contaminated and their natural habitat is lost. "They're in a very precarious position," Louisiana
wildlife biologist, Scott Walker said.
