Good News for Dogs in Heaven

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of things the current pope. Francis, is saying and doing on a number of fronts which encourage me. Doggone it, now he has made me happy again by welcoming critters into God's heavenly home. Here is a piece in Relevant magazine:

Good news, animal lovers. According to Pope Francis, our four-legged friends are heaven-bound. At a recent appearance in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope met a young boy who was visibly upset over the recent death of his dog. Pope Francis assured him,“One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures.” Though some theologians may argue that the comment is left to some interpretation, The New York Times reached out to The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit preist and an editor at a prominent Catholic magazine, who said, “He said paradise is open to all creatures. That sounds pretty clear to me” ...

Are you with the pope of this one, or is this a howler? Does this make you a little more open to the ecumenical conversation with the Roman Catholic church?

Faithfully Vote the Environment

I am so grateful that we have finally arrived at mid-term election day in the United States. You will know that watching American TV stations means endless ads in which opponents slag each other without mercy. And we thought we were mean in our political advertising!

I'm intrigued by a series of ads inviting voters to consider environmental issues as they enter the booth today. I've never seen anything like this in Canada, but wouldn't it be a good reminder? Maybe we have been cowed into submission, convinced that we will all suffer if we hold our governments to account on earthcare.

I'm proud to say that the United Church and organizations such as Kairos have tried to include Creation Care on the political agenda. I know that Green Party leader Elizabeth May is a Christian and connects her political and religious sensibilities, but she has to be cautious in doing so as the leader of a political party in this country. Sometimes though, it all seems to be whistling into a rather toxic breeze.

Hey, Jesus called us to be faithful, not necessarily successful. Maybe the recent international reports on the state of the global environment and the effects of climate change will raise awareness and stir us to political action. Maybe.

Comments?

The Bathtub Ring from Hell

Remember the massive BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig blowout in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010? Millions of litres of crude welled up from the depths and quickly contaminated everything within hundreds of kilometres.  Not only were we shocked by  the loss of human life, there was the appalling inability of the company to contain the spill. In the end it was the largest oil spill on record and large areas of sensitive marine habitat and wetlands were desecrated.  A variety of creatures including birds and dolphins were affected. It was an ecological tragedy and the billions of dollars in fines and reparations BP was forced to pay can't make it all better. Money isn't capable of doing that, even though some corporations act as though money is a god.

Now we're told that there is a giant bathtub ring of oil on the bottom of the Gulf, roughly the size of Manitoulin Island and 37 million litres of crude. We don't see this the way we saw beaches and pelicans soaked with the goo. But it is still out there, affecting the ecosystems, and probably will do for generations to come.

There was strong moral outrage when this happened, along with promises that the perpetrators would pay and laws would change. There were church services in coastal communities which were laments and vigils for an altered way of life. And yet the spills still happen, trains burn, pipelines burst.

Rather than worrying about the future prospect of hell, why don't we listen to the report on the lingering bathtub ring and realize that we are creating a living hell for future generations?  Surely we can do better.

The Buzz on Re-Greening

We lived in the city of Sudbury for eleven years and seemed to be constantly defending our choice to live there to friends and family from Southern Ontario. Why would we want to live in a place that looked like the moon? What about the emissions from the INCO smelter in Copper Cliff. We loved Northern Ontario and Sudbury was a good place to raise a family. Not only were we close to real wilderness, the city and its environs underwent a transformation from "scorched earth" to "re-greening."

Just before we left the community I spoke on a Sunday morning about the efforts of the mining companies and government to replant areas which fifteen years before were black and barren with the effects of sulphur. The so-called Superstack smelter in Copper Cliff was being retro-fitted with scrubbers so that sulphur dioxide was greatly reduced. When I showed before and after photos of the growth of trees over the years, members who had lived there for a lifetime were moved.  

I was intrigued to read about the latest project undertaken by Vale (formerly INCO.) It is a 10 million dollar remediation project around the smelter which includes planting wildflowers on formerly barren land. And what critters produce "liquid gold" from flowers? Yup, the nickel giant is now in the honey business thanks to the introduction of seven bee hives.   A former miner named Wayne Tonelli worked in Sudbury’s nickel mines for forty years and now he is a beekeeper. but his new gig is pretty sweet.

There are a lot of Vale employees who are not fans of the company and I understand why. But it's important to give credit where credit is due. There is also an underground tree greenhouse, begun during the INCO days, which provides the seedlings to plant more than 10 million evergreens in the Sudbury area. The mining firm also farms fish and to date has released 5,000 rainbow trout and 1,000 walleye into local rivers.

We humans manage to make a huge mess of the planet, and corporations often demonstrate psychopathic tendencies when it comes to treatment of Creation. I am encouraged by this effort, even if it may be dismissed by some as tokenism.

What do you think?

A New, Green Detroit?

Then the angel  showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  through the middle of the street of the city.
On either side of the river is the tree of life^[ with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 

The city of Detroit is in a death spiral, or so we hear on a regular basis. The city filed for bankruptcy, and retired civil servants are in danger of losing pensions. Once magnificent edifices are crumbling and there is talk of selling off part of the exceptional city art collection to pay the bills. Many people are so poor they can't pay their water bills and for a time hundreds were cut off daily. How can this happen in an American city?

In 1900 there were approximately 300,00 residents in Detroit, but by 1950 that was 1.85 million, growth driven by the auto sector and industry. Then the decline began and today less than 700,000 live in Detroit. This has resulted in the abandonment of whole neighbourhoods, the razing of more than 100,000 properties, while tens of thousands more are derelict.

The challenge is enormous, but what if these wastelands were transformed?  A master plan developed to respond to this reality, called Detroit Future City, imagines the reclamation of land. It would be used  for parks, forests, industrial buffers, greenways, retention ponds, community gardens, and even campgrounds. Of course this would cost a lot of money, and this is a bankrupt city but perhaps this project would put people back to work, giving them and the city some hope.

At the risk of flogging some verses to death, the vision of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem of the book of Revelation has plenty of trees and clean rivers. Oh yes, and everyone has enough to drink: "To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."

Why wait for the new Jerusalem? A new Detroit sounds good, as does the creative revitalization of many cities.

Does this sound like a pipe-dream, or could it happen? Should it happen?

Monkeys in Heaven

I got an email which is an advance notice about the publication of this book and I am intrigued, even though I'm not sure whether it has much to say about heaven.

Humans have spent a lot of time trying to establish themselves as gatekeepers of the life to come, although I don't recall God appointing any of us to the position. We make pronouncement about what religion to which others must adhere (ours), and what brand of our religion gets us in. We insist that heaven won't include all sorts of people, even if they do adhere to our sect or group, depending on sexual orientation or skin colour, or...you name it.

There are lots of Christians who would sneer at the prospect of animals in heaven. No matter that one's dog might be the most loyal, loving, and self-giving creature you will ever encounter. Because they can't profess faith in Jesus Christ they are on the outside. The Pearly Gates don't have a pet-door.

I was fortunate to have a religious studies prof nearly forty years ago named Millard Schumaker. He was both gracious and brilliant. He wrote a monograph on the prospect of a life to come for non--human creatures which appealed to my wife Ruth, who was also one of his students, but left me a little unsettled. If critters were "in" what did that say about the criteria for salvation? Of course what it says is that God is the Creator of all, loves all that God has made, and whose abundant grace makes room for all whom God chooses.  It's God who decides, not me. I'm not sure why that prospect didn't fill me with gladness rather than make me suspicious.

I am grateful that Dr. Schumaker pushed me to think outside the box (litter box?) of my late-teen Christian faith. There are some companion animals I would rather see again that some humans.

Do you figure there are monkeys and a bunch of other creatures in heaven? Is this heresy? Or do figure we're all just compost.

Testimony

There is an encouraging piece in the latest United Church Observer tucked away at the back of the magazine. It really should be closer to the action of feature articles and available online as well. It is under the heading of "Testimony" and that is exactly what it is, the faith story of Jessica Hetherington, who was raised as a Christian, became critical of organized religion for a number of reasons, then rediscovered "the God who speaks to me in my innermost depths."

Jessica's renewal of Christian faith has included intentional exploration of eco-theology, through doctoral studies. Her dissertation explored how changing patterns and behaviour in response to the ecological crisis can be a form of Christian discipleship. She has joined the United Church (hurray!) with her husband and children. She is a university lecturer and director of the Galilee Retreat Centre near Arnprior,Ontario. http://www.galileecentre.com/gallery/

I was taken by Jessica's story, and immediately picked up the phone and called her. We had what was for me an uplifting conversation about a number of things, including the value of connecting United Church folk who are passionate about caring for Creation. We haven't developed a way of doing this in the UCC the way other denominations have.

When we finished I was grateful that Jessica has found a home in the United Church.

Do we need to provide more opportunities for people to tell their stories of faith, of giving their testimony? Are you intrigued about reading Jessica's story? (October Observer, p.46) What about developing a way for those of like-mind on Creation Care to connect?

Fracking Crazy

The United States has gone fracking crazy, a phrase that can be interpreted in a number of ways. Fracking is the latest assault by the oil and gas industry to extract product fossil fuels from the ground. It has been very lucrative, and is also highly controversial. Fracking requires lots of water and is often happening in areas where there is little water. There is growing evidence that the mixture with chemicals for extraction is affection water sources. It also appears to trigger frequent earth tremors and quakes in regions which have little history of these events.

I think fracking is crazy, because outcomes aren't known, and it encourages dependence on fossil fuels rather than developing energy alternatives It also makes me angry to read that fracking is going on in New Mexico's stunningly beautiful Chaco Valley, in the state's northwest. This was a place of inspiration for the artist Georgia O'Keefe, an Easterner who fell in love with the landscape of New Mexico.

Some of you will recall that I made several trips to Ghost Ranch, a conference and retreat centre in the high plateau of northern New Mexico. I loved it there and it turned out that the retreat house I stayed in twice was spitting distance to the adobe house O'Keefe used as home base for painting forays, including those to the Chaco Valley. Her view to Padernal mountain (below) was virtually the same as from the Ghost Ranch retreat house called Casa del Sol.



It seems that energy extraction trumps safety and beauty and common sense in the States these days. None of these have value anymore because they can't be measured by money.  Of course we have our own claim to non-sense in Alberta these days.

There is also a rich cultural history for the aboriginal peoples of this region:

...the massive buildings of the ancestral Pueblo peoples still testify to the organizational and engineering abilities not seen anywhere else in the American Southwest. The canyon that was central to thousands of people between 850 and 1250 A.D

Do you know anything about this region? Are you familiar with the paintings of Georgia O'Keefe? Are you concerned that fracking may be coming to a backyard near you?

RIP Martha the Passenger Pigeon

There is a project in its initial stages to revive the passenger pigeon using DNA from the preserved remains in collections such as the Royal Ontario Museum. While it would be a fascinating scientific exercise, wouldn't we agree that that this bird has flown?

When Europeans arrived in North America there were hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of passenger pigeons. They may have represented a quarter of all the birds in North America. The travelling flocks were miles long and would darken the sky. They would also create their own snowstorms of droppings, which couldn't have encouraged looking up to witness their migration. The massive flocks would descend on oak forests to consume acorns from oak trees, not maples, as was suggested in a recent Toronto Star article.

They were shot by the thousands to be consumed, but also for the sheer bloody sport of it. This reckless killing and loss of habitat eventually destroyed what may have been the most common bird on the planet. It seemed impossible that they would become extinct because of their extraordinary abundance, but the last known passenger pigeon, named Martha, dying in captivity 100 years ago today.


There is an exhibit about the passenger pigeon at the ROM right now, and while I think I would like to go, it might just make me sad. One speaker will be Dr. Joel Greenberg who will talk about his book A Feathered River Across the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction. The title is poetic and painful.

             

We hear a lot about species extinction these days, yet I wonder how much we take in. While extinctions may not be as dramatic, humans are undermining the balance of the created order. Our Judeo-Christian story emphasizes God's work in creating biodiversity and we have the Noah story as the myth of species preservation. But we are reminded regularly in scripture that our selfishness and greed are destructive and that we must change our foolish ways.

If we don't protect the diversity of living things it may be a human Martha as the last living creature. We can do better and God wants us to do better.

Thoughts?

The Keys to Abundant Living

Over the past year we have seen innumerable photographs and extensive film footage of the devastation in the small Quebec town of Lac Megantic. A runaway train with a cargo of nearly eight million litres of highly flammable crude oil rumbled into the heart of community when the majority of residents were asleep and when the tank cars began to explode and burn both lives and property were lost. The image of unidentified keys above belonging to one of the persons who perished is a much more intimate reminder that 47 died without warning and so many more were plunged into grief. For me this photo is heartbreaking.



Earlier this week two reports were issued assessing the disaster and multiple causes were named. The Transportation Safety Board pointed an official finger at the safety standards of the company which owned the train. Both reports, along with the union for rail workers, and Greenpeace took Transport Canada to task as well. The expressed concern that there is not enough enforcement of regulations governing the movement by rail of dangerous materials. We all use fossil fuels and there is no fool-proof method of processing and transportation, but we entrust government to ensure the health and wellbeing of our environment.

While Lac Megantic deserves high-profile attention, and those who suffered catastrophic loss deserve answers, this situation is one aspect of the much broader concern about how our various levels of government protect humans and the environment in general. There will always be the temptation of industry to cut corners for the sake of higher profit.

Many of us have growing concerns that the quality of air, and our water, along with the safety of our neighbourhoods have become secondary to the interests of industry. Whether it is the Northern Gateway pipeline in B.C., or waterways through First Nations territory near the Oil Sands, or rail lines carrying hazardous goods through hundreds of other Canadian communities, we need to know that our best interests are the primary goal of those we elect.

We also have an obligation as individuals and collectively, including faith communities, to be informed and to flap our gums, and hold officials accountable for the greater good. Vague assurances just aren't good enough and neither is indifference on our part. Not long ago I tweeted a photo of a train with scores of tanker cars moving through downtown Belleville. I sent is as I waited on my bicycle for it to pass. What was in that train, and do we have the right to know?

While this may not seem like "gospel" if we interpret this word narrowly, Christ came as Good News incarnate, the source of abundant life. We have an obligation to the owner of those keys to do our best for a world made whole.

Thoughts?

The Forest Man of India

When we moved to Halifax more than a decade ago our son Isaac was heading into Grade 12, a tough time to change high schools. Fortunately he was befriended by several guys, they eventually formed a band, and they lived together at university for a year.

The five of them are men in their thirties now and Ike was back in Nova Scotia to officiate at the wedding of one this past weekend.  They spent time together and Isaac sent me the link to an award-winning documentary film which another of these men, Mike, helped create about an Indian version of a ramped-up modern Johnny Appleseed called Forest Man. Mike is on the right. If you have fifteen minutes -and you know you do- you can watch the shortened version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=HkZDSqyE1do&app=desktop

 

 

 

Jadav Payeng, the man whose story is told, has single-handedly planted trees in a 1400 acre area, or roughly 150 percent the size of Central Park in New York. This forest on an estuary island had been clear-cut and was barren. Without government help or funding he began planting and over time has risked his life protecting this forest from poachers and loggers. The trees have helped curb erosion significantly. Birds and animals have returned and we're not talking chipmunks. Elephants, rhinos, tigers, deer have all made this forest their home for at least part of the year. It is a remarkable, moving story of human determination against the odds.

As we approach Creation Time in the liturgical calendar I am thinking about hope in the face of environmental degradation and how we overcome cynicism and despair and selfishness. We seem so much better at desecrating the planet than making it sacred and livable. This story certainly gave me hope for what one individual without resources or official support can do. We watch him plant one tree at a time.

Surely as affluent members of a wealthy culture can figure out how to make a difference in our world. Doesn't our faith direct us to do so?

Congratulations to Mike and the others who brought this story to us. But it really is about Jadav Payeng and his remarkable determination.

Thoughts?

Whale Tale

Recently a conservationist was cleaning a 17th painting by a Dutch artist depicting a seaside scene. As she worked a figure began to emerge next to a large object. The latter proved to be a beached whale, a creature which may have been painted out much later as unseemly in a painting of a refined nature. I thought it impressive that a whale was on a beach in Holland. How often do we hear of cetaceans on the beach in that neck of the woods? Were there lots of them frolicking in the salt waters surrounding Europe back then?

I also thought of J.B. Mackinnon's book The Once & Future World: Nature as it Was, As It Is, As It Could Be. I found this to be a brilliant book which explores, amongst other things, how humans have short memories subject to what he calls Shifting Baseline Syndrome. This is the idea we take the world we’re born into as normal even though it may only vaguely resemble the world of our grandparents. In my lifetime Monarch butterflies and frogs and fireflies have become threatened, not to mention many of the larger creatures of the land and sea. I lived in Newfoundland as the supposedly inexhaustible biomass of codfish was being recognized as on life support and chatted with locals who recalled great writhing invasions of caplin on the beaches.

Mackinnon writes about another 17th century painting called The Fish Market by Frans Snyders. It depicts a host of species all but one which were caught in the Wadden Sea four hundred years ago but have become scarce or disappeared. He notes that the fish of the painting are so large that they seem exaggerated, except that it is more likely that through the centuries these species have become smaller and smaller due to over-harvesting.



I want my grandchildren to live in a world of the abundance and diversity that I am convinced God intended. I am sometimes haunted by the greed of my generation in particular, which has expected so much from the Earth and given so little back. I won't give up, but I feel chastened.

Thoughts?

This Little Light of Mine

Years ago when our kids were young we camped as a family in Mactaquac Provincial Park in New Brunswick, not far from Fredericton. We were there on Canada Day and hoped we might see the city firework display from the campground. We could hear the explosions but we weren't able to view the fireworks even when we went down by the water. We ended up enjoying God's firework display in the form of lots of fireflies.

It turns out that one of the many delights of our backyard in Belleville is fireflies. Little did we know that they are disappearing across North America (shades of Monarch butterflies?) and there is a Firefly Watch initiative https://legacy.mos.org/fireflywatch/ to track where they still exist.

In my opinion fireflies are one of those little miracles of creation which should astound us. Here is an explanation of how they work:

Fireflies light up to attract a mate. To do this, the fireflies contain specialized cells in their abdomen that make light. The cells contain a chemical called luciferin and make an enzyme called luciferase. To make light, the luciferin combines with oxygen to form an inactive molecule called oxyluciferin.

Is this not amazing? Sure, I'm fine with evolutionary adaptation for the propagation of the species and all that stuff, but I not too old to have a sense of wonder. I enjoy God's nightlights even if that isn't a scientific explanation. I hope they never go out.

Any firefly stories? Had you heard that they are scarce these days?

Blue/Green Commute

In July there was an encouraging article in the Globe and Mail newspaper about the importance of intentionally making cities "green" for the health of inhabitants. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/how-green-cities-are-better-for-us-physically-and-psychologically/article19474393/?page=all While is was entitled Green Streets, it was actually just as blue as it was green. It featured a Carlton professor, Root Gorelick (in photos) who cycles and paddles to work, spending 25 minutes on the Ottawa River in a canoe as part of his commute. He was held up as an example of making a healthy choice in environments which can be psychologically unhealthy. Apparently even wintry weather doesn't daunt him!





The Globe article offered:

Cities are the main human ecosystem – 60 per cent of us now live in metropolitan areas with more than 100,000 people – but they also make us sick, depressed and anxious. By contrast, being around blue water, green trees and space makes us healthier, more productive, even more generous – a positive effect known as “biophilia.”

I haven't paddled to work but yesterday we drove five minutes from our home in Belleville  and put our kayaks in the Bay of Quinte for an hour-long jaunt. Visitors were coming so we had to keep it brief and close by, yet within minutes we saw osprey, kingfishers, turtles and a water snake. Today I cycled to work at Bridge St. church and again chose the longer route which takes me along the paved waterfront path. At times I am a couple of metres from the bay and find the trip along the water a great way to get my heart rate up and enjoy the beauty of the natural world. This is a form of prayer for me and along with being good exercise it puts me in touch with Creation and Creator. I am convinced that biophilia, love of the created order, is an expression of love for the God who brought all things into being.

My deep desire is that our congregation become more committed to both creation-care and celebrating the goodness of Creation. And if we can promote this in our urban environment, all the better.

Thoughts?

That's Not Heinz!

Okay, it's close to vacation time, so not only am I weary, I may be hallucinating. Does anyone else remember TV ads for Heinz ketchup where a person runs out of Heinz ketchup and when a substitute is offered the disdainful response was "that's not Heinz." I can't find any evidence that these commercials ever existed, so maybe I'm making it up.


Well, that's not Heinz in Leamington Ontario anymore. After more than a century in the community the Heinz plant is closing. It processed about forty percent of the province's field tomatoes, which means it was key to both agriculture and manufacturing. A deal was struck with Heinz to contract out processing which is a ray of hope for both farmers and plant workers, but production has been scaled back. Only about a third of the 700 employees will still have jobs making nine dollars an hour less than before. The farmers grew their tomato crops to Heinz's specific standards, and it's hard to imagine another market for what they grow.

We might throw a few rotten tomatoes at Warren Buffett Heinz, but we can pray for the best. Perhaps more of those out-of-work employees will be rehired. It is just another example of the ugly way production shifts to other parts of the world for a better bottom line.



Should we care, really, and should we care as Christians? The production of tomato products seems like a bit of a stretch as a justice issue. Yet we should be concerned about agriculture in the places where we live. In Ontario we just don't seem to care that so much of what we eat as fresh and processed produce comes from somewhere else, often a great distance. We are highly dependent on fruit and veggies from California, a state where persistent drought is creating a crisis for growers. We can't eat what they can't grow. It's as simple at that.

Am I stretching it to think we should care about the closure of the Heinz plant? Should we be paying more attention to agriculture and processing in this province? Do you know any good tomato prayers?  

Drought and the Prayer of Stewardship

 

 

⁴¹ Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of rushing rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; there he bowed himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. 

 ⁴³ He said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” He went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” Then he said, “Go again seven times.” ⁴⁴ At the seventh time he said, “Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.”

Then he said, “Go say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” 

 ⁴⁵ In a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind; there was a heavy rain. Ahab rode off and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; he girded up his loins and ran in front of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.   1 Kings 18 NRSV

Our next door neighbour is a great guy, friendly and helpful. He takes care of his property to a fault, including his lawn. Which means that at 4:45 each morning we hear a sputter and a hiss to mark the first watering of the day by the timed, in-ground sprinkler system. Our lawn on that side of the driveway is lush and green as well because the experts haven't figured out how to get sprayed water to stop at a property line...yet. What fascinates me is that we haven't exactly been in drought conditions this year. Tons of snow, then plenty of rain have kept everything lush and green. But, sputter, hiss, spray.

I'll be interested to see what happens if we have a dry summer. Last year there was a second watering which took place late in the afternoon. Sometimes the jets were a pumpin' in the midst of God's watering job because that's what happens when you're on a timer. You may be thinking, "cool your jets David," so to speak. It's his water bill and there is hardly a shortage. Yet our local water authority encourages us to think conservation in water usage, including wastewater. It wants us to develop the habits of moderate use, and to change our attitudes about this precious resource.


There was an article in  Berkley's California Magazine recently examining water usage in a state now plagued by drought http://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/summer-2014-apocalypse/doomsday-3-california-may-oscillate-between-drastic It pointed out that the agriculture of California, which we depend upon all winter, is very inefficient. It explores options, including how wastewater may be recycled for human consumption, a thought which gives most of us the heebie jeebies. But we may all be pushed into different habits and practices in a world which is warming.

Praying for rain is an option, as we read above. But God has given us brains and wills to make different choices. Isn't responsible stewardship a form of prayer?

What do you think?

Applause Please!

                                                                       (chorus from Isaiah 55)

When last winter's ice storm ravaged Toronto's tree canopy it was pointed out that one of the "savings" of the Rob Ford regime was eliminating several million dollars worth of tree maintenance. With all the mayor's scandalous behavior the lack of arboreal hygiene may seem rather insignificant. But I though of this when TD Bank released a report on the value of Toronto's urban forest. Here is an excerpt from the Globe and Mail newspaper:

Toronto’s 10 million trees are worth an estimated $7-billion or about $700 per tree and the benefits of maintaining an urban forest outweigh the costs, says a new report.
“The replacement value (what it would cost to remove a tree and replant a similar one) of the 10 million trees that make up Toronto’s urban forest is valued at over $7 billion,” TD Economics chief economist Craig Alexander said in an analysis published Monday.

The city’s urban forest provides residents with over $80-million -- about $8 per tree -- in environmental and cost savings every year, the report found.“For the average single family household, this works out to $125 of savings per annum.” Every dollar spent on annual maintenance of the tree stock returns between $1.35 and $3.20 worth of benefits and cost savings per year, according to the report’s estimates.
Among the annual benefits provided by the more than 116 tree species:

• $53.95-million from the reduced strain on water transportation and infrastructure thanks to rain and wet-weather flow interception
• $19.09-million from air pollutants absorbed, removed and avoided by street trees
• $6.42-million from energy saved through shading and climate moderation
• $1.24-million from carbon sequestration and emissions avoided through energy savings

The amount of particulate matter removed annually by Toronto’s urban forest is equivalent to the amount released by over one million cars or 100,000 single family homes,

Like, wow. I don't know what is more impressive, the analysis, or that a bank has done the research. The bible tells us that trees are creatures, and gifts from God. I think they are probably applauding this report.

Comments?

Fish Tales

I saw a tweet this morning reminding us that today is the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua, a Franciscan who preached to the fish. "Many soles were saved" was the accompanying pun.   As someone who admires St. Francis and his legacy of honouring creation, along with any legends of Christians and nature, so matter how whimsical, I had to check this out. Here is a description:   In the area near Padua, there was once a group of heretics who criticised and ridiculed his preaching; the Saint went to the edge of a river, looked in the distance, and said to the heretics so that everyone would hear: "From the moment in which you proved yourselves to be unworthy of the Word of the Lord, look, I turn to the fish, to further confound your disbelief". And filled with the Lord's spirit, he began to preach to the fish, elaborating on their gifts given by God: how God had created them, how He was responsible for the purity of the water and how much freedom He had given them, and how they were able to eat without working. The fish began to gather together to listen to this speech, lifting their heads above the water and looking at him attentively, with their mouths open. As long as it pleased the Saint to talk to them, they stayed there listening attentively, as if they could reason. Nor did their leave their place, until they had received his blessing.   Do I believe this story? Well, it depends on what you mean by believe. Did it literally occur. Probably not, at least not the rapt congregation of fish part. Do I believe that often in the annals of the Christian church holiness was associated with reciprocal reverence between humans and creatures? Yes.   We see the images of Francis preaching to the birds and read of Celtic saints who are friends with the residents of forests and lakes. We could do with a little more of that reverence in a time when supposed Christian leaders ignore care for God's good Earth with a one-trick-pony (well, maybe without the pony) message of personal salvation. I don't believe that "only humans may apply" when it comes to God's grace.   Comments?

Canada and the Wild

George Monbiot is an award-winning environmental writer and activist with exceptional story-telling abilities. He is British and in his latest book, Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life he explores what it might mean to "rewild" areas of the British Isles. Great Britain has been virtually tamed through relentless deforestation and agricultural development, not to mention a relatively large population in a small geographical area. Monbiot describes the efforts, on a minimal scale, to allow areas to "go native" in both flora and fauna, without necessarily fitting the ideal of a restored landscape. After all, restored to what? Monbiot points out that the British populace seems to have a greater suspicion and fear of the wild than other European countries.

As I say, he is an excellent storyteller, although at times I wondered about the meandering thread of his thesis. What stung me about Monbiot's book was his introduction, in which he uses Canada as an example of what can go right and wrong when it comes to protecting wild places and ecosystems. He offers two "parables" and a cautionary tale. He describes the crash of the Atlantic cod stock, which was once seen as inexhaustible. It was only when the fish no longer existed that our government curtailed fishing. Duh. The other parable is of the forestry industry on Vancouver Island and the activists who persistently and bravely resisted the logging of Clayoquot Sound and surrounding forests. The cautionary tale is what is happening with the vast oil sand reserves in Alberta.

As a Canadian I actually see all three of these stories as failures of our various levels of government to protect what is both a natural resource and a sacred trust. In this vast, beautiful country we simply haven't been able to use our God-given brains to get past the "drawers of water and hewers of wood" mentality in order to live with some degree of balance with the natural order.

This past week Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot was in Canada and he fawned all over Prime Minister Stephen Harper as mentor and friend. Sadly, both have dismantled laws protecting the environment and insist that the economy trumps the environment. In what seems like a "dumb and dumber" pairing, they don't get that a sustainable environment will ultimately enhance the economy.

I do see care for our Earth as a sacred trust. I don't know about rewilding, but there is enough which is wild in Canada that we can protect it and live alongside it.

Thoughts?

The Beginning of a New Outlook?

Wow. I had to blow a lot of dust off my Groundling blog and call in a mechanic to get it up and running today. It has been months since I wrote an entry...that sounds like something I might say in the confessional. Even though eco-faith issues are my passion, sufficient time in an active ministry becomes an issue and I have reverted to including environmental comments in my Lion Lamb blog.

Yesterday's announcement by the Obama administration concerning reduction of carbon emissions created by burning coal was too significant to pass by though. And Groundling seemed to be the appropriate place to write about it. Obama appears to have grown impatient with the endless Republican stonewalling when it comes to environmental legislation. He has taken a "damn the torpedoes" approach and declared that emissions will be reduced by 30% by 2030.

Finally, finally, finally, the United States has taken a bold step in this regard, and the goal is attainable, if challenging. Of course the naysayers are already squawking, the way they have with other important environmental issues such as acid rain. Then, as now, opponents insisted changes would be an economic disaster. It wasn't, and it won't be. A New York Times editorial today offers this:

The greenhouse gas reductions required by the Obama administration’s proposed rule on power plants will not get the world to where it has to go to avert the worst consequences of climate change. But they are likely to be enormously beneficial: good for the nation’s health, good for technological innovation, good for President Obama’s credibility abroad, and, in time, good for the planet and future generations. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/opinion/nearing-a-climate-legacy.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

God bless America for demonstrating leadership in care for God's good Earth. Now, can we convince our Canadian government to do the same? Yesterday's claim by Prime Minister Harper that we are out ahead of the US is ridiculous. Oil sands development is the parallel to rapacious coal extraction and consumption and we have to come up with a better, more sustainable plan. Please notice that I did not say that development should cease and desist. But we have to do this better and realize that there are economic alternatives to resource extraction.

Perhaps the American initiative will encourage First Nations, environmental, and religious groups to keep pressing for change.

Will Obama succeed, or will this be one more disappointment? Can this happen in Canada? Will it require a change of government? Should our United Church continue to champion the cause of sustainable development?

Trumped on Climate Change

It was bound to happen. We have experienced some intense cold weather and so a fair number of people, including the noted climate scientist, Donald Trump, have been taking it as "proof" that climate change and warming just aren't occurring. I am willing to concede that it sure doesn't feel warm out there, and like many clergy and church leaders we are fretting that this nasty weather has resulted in smaller congregations, or cancelled worship services.

I find this open letter by Nick Visser to The Donald to be very helpful in understanding how it can be so cold and still be an indication of Global Climate Change and even Global Warming:

Dear Mr. Trump:Winter is always cold. And sometimes that means unimaginably cold.
Despite wind chills nearing -60 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago and temperatures that left some parts of Canada colder than Mars, Arctic sea ice is still melting, atmospheric CO2 concentrations are still climbing and climate change is predicted to pose a far greater threat to the planet than many scientists thought.
Winters have become increasingly warmer over the past century, and despite the recent bout of subzero temps, global warming can make extreme weather events like the polar vortex even worse. In layman's terms, as the planet warms and Arctic sea ice melts, the northern polar region equalizes a bit with temperatures farther south, causing the jet stream that forms a circular band around the northern latitudes to slow down.
This jet stream usually holds the far colder Arctic air in place with winds in excess of 100 mph, but pockets of cold can escape at times when the stream slows down, according to Time. That's exactly what's happened this time around, except the amount of cold that's leaked past the seal is much larger than usual and has pushed farther south.
Plain and simple, climate change can't be proven or disproven by a single weather event.  Period. Long-term trends have shown that climate change is happening and the IPCC has said it's "extremely likely" humans are the dominant cause. So, although it's counterintuitive, the current frostbitten state of the country may be further proof that yes, the planet is warming -- and climate change is here with a vengeance.

Mr.Trump, you're fired as a climatologist! But he and the others who are naysayers aren't the real problem. We all need to ask what we can do to simplify our lives, pretty much the way Jesus taught. Isn't that a win-win situation? We are obedient Christians and we care for Creation, even if this is all an elaborate conspiracy /hoax/government plot.

I would ask your opinion, but your fingers may be too cold to tap out a response.