I've recently been doing research on what it means to be sustainable. This topic comes up because of a presentation that I did for a competition at
The University of South Florida's Graduate Program Interdisciplinary Conference.
Side Note: My proposal was accepted and I presented my article,
UNDERSTANDING HOW THE NATURAL WORLD WORKS TO CREATE A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS: MODEL PROGRAMS AND DEVELOPMENTAL STRATEGIES. I am still looking to publish this piece, so if there is a scholarly journal that is interested in sustainability and the college campus, please
contact me. :::wink:::
My obsession for sustainability came after reading Greg Horns book,
Green Living. This book is great for anyone that is looking for practical ways to sustain their health, body, and environment (home/office/car).
This introduction to green living seemed like a calling... It seemed to be a necessity to change my behavior about what goes in or around my body as well as my carbon footprint. So imagine my interest in the book
Green Like God by Jonathan Merritt.
This book expresses the love God has for all living things and charges humans with the responsibility to protect God's creations. The young author/minister references Genesis 9, which describes a conversation God is having with Noah after the flood. God told Noah that the rainbow is a sign of God's covenant with humans AND all of the living creatures in the Ark. God stated, "Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth" (
Gen 9:11 NIV).
Although I am not finished reading the book, it has sparked some thoughts. I have considered the events in life and how reporters call them isolated "natural disasters" as apposed to revelations depicted in the Bible. For instance, Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in China and Haiti, wild fires in California, and most recently the
sinking holes in Guatemala. These are all things we should consider our part in affecting their existence. Could our affect on global warming possibly play a role in the wild fires that sparked in California. There is no question that our obsession with oil has certainly taken a drastic toll on the wildlife and animals in the Gulf due to the oil spill.
Our thoughtless ignorant actions have consequences. Those consequences may very well be "natural disasters", but as Corinne Bailey Rae's song depicts,
Love's On It's Way. To those of us who are constantly trying to reverse the effects of living our disposable lifestyles full of waste, we are reminded of God's covenant. As those things we read about in Revelations appear before our eyes, do not have the spirit of fear, but remember God's love and the covenant of hope with the sign of a rainbow. God is love and Love's On It's Way.
