I recently came across George Will's Newsweek column entitled, "The Earth Doesn't Care--About what is done for it or to it." Based on an article in The American Scholar by Nobel-winning physicist Dr. Robert Laughlin. Arguing from a geolocial time frame of millions of years, he states that the way we treat the earth doesn't matter in the long run. This big ball of water and dirt is incredibly resilient, and it will bounce back like it always does given enough time.
This isn't the first time I've encountered such an assertion, though I normally hear it coming from conservative Christian friends. Drawing from a belief in God's sovereignty, they state that it is impossible to harm the earth. (Many of these same folks would presumably abstain from smoking cigarettes. however, because of the harm it would cause. Oh, the irony.)
Beliefs such as these are surprisingly influential, and I believe, almost necessarily produce an environmental malaise that ignores the suffering of our global neighbors. That's why I was so excited today to post an essay on QIdeas.org by Dr. Rusty Pritchard titled "Does the Earth Care if You Drive a Hybrid." Rusty is not only a good friend and someone I look up immensely, he is also a capable scholar. A natural resource economist with a PhD from The University of Florida, he helped found the Environmental Studies program at my alma mater, Emory University. Additionally, he is President of Flourish, an organization seeking to engage the church on creation care.
Rusty argues,
"Laughlin misses the point of those who think about things like atmospheric pollution. No one is asking what impact our actions will have on an oblivious earth or an uncaring universe. And the Bible itself certainly never uses that as an ethical filter to help us decide right actions. The questions for us in the here-and-now have to do with human history and futures, not with geological time scales: Do our actions harm our neighbors? Do they honor the Creator and uphold the integrity of his good creation?"
By refocusing us on God and neighbor, I think he provides a much needed perspective. I encourage you to read his entire essay.
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