Renae and Olive were packing away the church nativity display for another season. As Olive wrapped up the baby Jesus figurine, she remarked, “It’s really quite amazing! In our Christian tradition an earth-shaking transformation took place some 2,000 years ago. Jesus gave us an enlightened vision of The Spirit and taught us a new way to relate to one another. Humankind was lifted to a higher level.”
The women continued to work quietly then Renea said, “Maybe now’s the time to take the next step higher.” “What do you mean?” questioned Olive.
Renea told Olive about a recent article in the journal Science. It stated, "Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change. Continuation of ‘business as usual’ would result in great loss for both humans and the Earth.” The article lists a litany of human impacts: 70% of land surfaces altered, 77% of major rivers no longer flow from source to sea, the tally of animal species going extinct is rising, biodiversity is being lost.
“Yikes!” Olive cried. “That’s scary!”
“You bet it is.” Renae replied. “But we humans are smart, and hopefully wise as well. The author says in order to save the planet and ourselves ALL of us need a better understanding of how tightly woven together humans are to the natural world. Then we need to apply that understanding ‘system-wide across technological, economic and social factors.’ The good news is, we humans have advanced to the point where we are able to understand our world as never before. It’s time to apply that understanding and make sustainability the new ‘business as usual’ rather than the exception,” Renae concluded.
Olive furrowed her brow then said, “I’ve got it! This January instead of making resolutions for just the new year, I say we make a new DECADE resolution. Let’s make the 2020s the decade we humans embrace a new, healthier relationship with the natural world. No more willy-nilly extraction, consumption and discarding of Earth’s resources. This decade we commit to a new way of life,” Olive A. Newway declared.
“I’m IN,” Renae Sance agreed. “Jesus showed us how to transform the world; now it’s our turn. We’re the stewards of this beautiful planet, and this is the only home we’ll ever know. So we really have no choice because we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
The women continued to work quietly then Renea said, “Maybe now’s the time to take the next step higher.” “What do you mean?” questioned Olive.
Renea told Olive about a recent article in the journal Science. It stated, "Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change. Continuation of ‘business as usual’ would result in great loss for both humans and the Earth.” The article lists a litany of human impacts: 70% of land surfaces altered, 77% of major rivers no longer flow from source to sea, the tally of animal species going extinct is rising, biodiversity is being lost.
“Yikes!” Olive cried. “That’s scary!”
“You bet it is.” Renae replied. “But we humans are smart, and hopefully wise as well. The author says in order to save the planet and ourselves ALL of us need a better understanding of how tightly woven together humans are to the natural world. Then we need to apply that understanding ‘system-wide across technological, economic and social factors.’ The good news is, we humans have advanced to the point where we are able to understand our world as never before. It’s time to apply that understanding and make sustainability the new ‘business as usual’ rather than the exception,” Renae concluded.
Olive furrowed her brow then said, “I’ve got it! This January instead of making resolutions for just the new year, I say we make a new DECADE resolution. Let’s make the 2020s the decade we humans embrace a new, healthier relationship with the natural world. No more willy-nilly extraction, consumption and discarding of Earth’s resources. This decade we commit to a new way of life,” Olive A. Newway declared.
“I’m IN,” Renae Sance agreed. “Jesus showed us how to transform the world; now it’s our turn. We’re the stewards of this beautiful planet, and this is the only home we’ll ever know. So we really have no choice because we’re all forever… Earthbound.”
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