Stewardship; the moral and ethical responsibility for care-taking on the behalf of others. In my opinion, forcing numerous species into extinction and releasing several tonnes of pollutants into the atmosphere each day, is neither ethical nor moral. As the most intelligent species on the planet, we felt it was only right that we appoint ourselves with the responsibility of managing Earth. If you asked the millions of other species that reside on our planet, I’m sure they’d disagree with us when we call ourselves "stewards".
In the book of Genesis, when God created the Earth he said;
Now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds and all the animals, domestic and wild, large and small.
Do you think God would have given us this power if he knew we would abuse it in the ways we are today?
After seeing an image as astonishing as this, we may ask ourselves “Who could do such a thing to an animal so innocent?”
Well the truth is WE are doing this. Everyone is contributing to this horrible injustice. When we take a car to get to school, when we buy those pair of jeans that were manufactured halfway across the world and even when we purchase a bottle of water, we are consuming energy. Although you may not notice, most of our everyday activities require the use of an energy source. When we purchase a product, a lot of the time it wasn’t made locally, therefore energy was used not only in the production of this product but also in the transportation of it. A lot of the energy we use comes from burning fossil fuels. When we burn these fuels we are releasing CO2 gases into Earth’s atmosphere. These gases build up in Earth’s lower atmosphere and prevent heat from the sun’s rays from escaping into space. The build up of these gases results in the polar bear’s biggest threat to their survival: climate change.
Climate change is just one of the many ways human intervention has negatively impacted the biodiversity of our ecosystem. I think many of the environmental issues we face today are a result of our undying need as humans to intervene and change what doesn’t need changing. Humans have the belief that everything needs improving, and it’s this belief that has led to many changes in our world that we could have done without.
Lets take the bottled water industry as an example; we were fine with drinking tap water before the invention of bottled water. Beginning with the production process and ending in our vending machines at school; bottled water leaves a great deal of CO2 emissions along its path. Energy is used in the factory to make the plastic bo
ttle, and then used again to ship these bottles to our school and once they’re here, even more energy is used to refrigerate them in our vending machines. Don’t you think this is a bit too much for a little plastic bottle that we’ll use for only a few minutes; then eventually throw away? 650 million water bottles are being thrown into Ontario’s landfills each year, only 35% of these bottles get recycled. Bottled water is not necessary for our survival, it is a luxury that we have and can do without.
I am not saying that evolution is bad. As a matter of fact, I’m both amazed and appreciative of the many inventions that are being used today. But at some point we need to ask ourselves “to what extent are we willing to go in order to satisfy our desires?” I strongly believe that it is possible to make new developments and at the same time be mindful of the millions of other species living on Earth. If all the other species of the world can coexist with one another, why should humans be an exception? Each day, we need to keep in mind that the Earth doesn't belong to us,
and what we do to it affects all of Earth's inhabitants. If we are going to accept the responsibility of being a steward, we are also responsible for the maintenance of Earth. As stewards we should be maintaining a symbiotic relationship with our planet, but until that happens, we cannot call ourselves stewards of the world. And now I leave you with a Native American Proverb!
Well the truth is WE are doing this. Everyone is contributing to this horrible injustice. When we take a car to get to school, when we buy those pair of jeans that were manufactured halfway across the world and even when we purchase a bottle of water, we are consuming energy. Although you may not notice, most of our everyday activities require the use of an energy source. When we purchase a product, a lot of the time it wasn’t made locally, therefore energy was used not only in the production of this product but also in the transportation of it. A lot of the energy we use comes from burning fossil fuels. When we burn these fuels we are releasing CO2 gases into Earth’s atmosphere. These gases build up in Earth’s lower atmosphere and prevent heat from the sun’s rays from escaping into space. The build up of these gases results in the polar bear’s biggest threat to their survival: climate change.
Climate change is just one of the many ways human intervention has negatively impacted the biodiversity of our ecosystem. I think many of the environmental issues we face today are a result of our undying need as humans to intervene and change what doesn’t need changing. Humans have the belief that everything needs improving, and it’s this belief that has led to many changes in our world that we could have done without.
Lets take the bottled water industry as an example; we were fine with drinking tap water before the invention of bottled water. Beginning with the production process and ending in our vending machines at school; bottled water leaves a great deal of CO2 emissions along its path. Energy is used in the factory to make the plastic bo
ttle, and then used again to ship these bottles to our school and once they’re here, even more energy is used to refrigerate them in our vending machines. Don’t you think this is a bit too much for a little plastic bottle that we’ll use for only a few minutes; then eventually throw away? 650 million water bottles are being thrown into Ontario’s landfills each year, only 35% of these bottles get recycled. Bottled water is not necessary for our survival, it is a luxury that we have and can do without.I am not saying that evolution is bad. As a matter of fact, I’m both amazed and appreciative of the many inventions that are being used today. But at some point we need to ask ourselves “to what extent are we willing to go in order to satisfy our desires?” I strongly believe that it is possible to make new developments and at the same time be mindful of the millions of other species living on Earth. If all the other species of the world can coexist with one another, why should humans be an exception? Each day, we need to keep in mind that the Earth doesn't belong to us,
and what we do to it affects all of Earth's inhabitants. If we are going to accept the responsibility of being a steward, we are also responsible for the maintenance of Earth. As stewards we should be maintaining a symbiotic relationship with our planet, but until that happens, we cannot call ourselves stewards of the world. And now I leave you with a Native American Proverb!
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."
Works Cited
Clean Air and Energy
Polar Bear Conservation
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/polarbear.html
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/polarbear.html
The War Against Water Bottles
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/01/25/8139291-sun.html
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/01/25/8139291-sun.html
Causes of Global Warming
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes.html
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes.html
