If making ethical, just decisions were easy, we would not be having a conversation about pollution. We would have a beautiful, green planet where all decisions would be based on what is best for the earth and its inhabitants.
We have experienced for some time the consequences of ignoring our “home” in favor of profit. Looking around our country, we can see the effects of pollution despite efforts to curb or stop the pollution that seems to be increasing, and despite real information about the dangers to our water systems, the air we breathe, and the ground beneath our feet.
Additionally, industrial pollution can be one of the bigger factors that can cause severe effects on the environment. For instance, due to an oil spill, ocean water can get polluted and cause adverse impacts on water bodies. But to avoid such incidents, oil refinery companies can employ safety sensors (you can learn more through a post about subsea lvdts) that can reduce man-made disasters and ensure environmental safety.
As long as we can turn on the tap and water flows into our sinks, we don’t seem to worry too much about it. For example, when you face difficulty in breathing or other respiratory problems, you probably may have enough money to get it treated on time with the help of doctors who specialize in that field (check out this link https://gwinnettlung.com/ for reference). However, what about people who cannot have access to proper medical facilities? They may have to carry the problem all throughout their life, and maybe even the problem could take their life. How long would you remain ignorant to what is happening around you?
Now, think about the people who live near fracking sites. They will tell you what it’s like to discover that the water piped into your home can poison you. We need to think about that as we turn on the taps in our own homes. Polluters don’t look like monsters; in fact, they look just like we do, and some of them sit next to us in the pews in our parishes. We don’t have one person or company to blame, and that’s a problem.
We like to blame someone or some entity when disaster strikes because then the fault lies at someone else’s feet.
If we don’t claim responsibility for what is happening in our communities, nothing will change, unless a situation becomes worse. All we need do is look at the number of dramatic differences people are experiencing with the weather in various places around the globe and specifically in many areas of our country.
It’s shocking, and then the shock translates into something else, fear. We need to take ownership of the environmental problems and begin to find a way to make an impact on them. Sometimes, we just need information and direction to start.
Change must always begin with us and then expand from a very personal point. And it needs to begin immediately. We have to arm ourselves with knowledge and determination, and commit ourselves on the most intimate level to take care of our environment and build up the kingdom of God by actively participating in safeguarding our homes, our earth, before it is too late.
Begin small, with a very focused agenda, like using a water bottle instead of buying bottled water. Then expand to other areas, always keeping your goals in focus.
We each live in a particular place at a particular moment in history. The time for just going along with the present strategy, which appears to disregard the needs of the earth in favor of policies that advance the gathering of wealth, will bring disaster to our doors, if it hasn’t already. This is our place and our moment. I pray we don’t squander it by doing nothing.
