Caring for Our Home

Humanity’s ecological awareness has grown significantly in recent decades. For example, next year will mark 40 years since the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy in Ukraine. On the morning of April 26, 1986, the explosion of reactor 4 formed a radioactive cloud that spread over much of Europe. As a result, the city of Pripyat—home to the plant workers—was evacuated. An estimated four thousand people died from causes related to the tragedy. 

Almost three years later, a tanker sailing under the United Kingdom’s flag but operated by an American company, Exxon Shipping®, ran aground on a reef off Alaska’s southern coast. The accident spilled 40 million liters of oil and affected two thousand kilometers of the region’s coastline, killing thousands of birds, mammals, and fish.

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers died, and the fireball could be seen from 64 kilometers (40 miles) away. Two days later, the platform sank and spilled 3.2 million barrels of oil. It became the largest oil spill in history.

These are some of the most famous environmental tragedies of recent decades. They remind us that human greed remains the main cause of the serious environmental problems threatening our planet today.

Since ancient times, people have relied on nature to survive. Yet the environmental impact was usually local, and nature could recover over time. That balance was broken by the Industrial Revolution, which began in the late 18th century. As a result, environmental crises became global.

The emergence of factories allowed society to produce more in quantity and quality at a lower cost. Thus, the consumer society was born. Today, we have a standard of living that ancient societies did not know, but the environment is the one that has paid the price.

Until the 1970s, humanity seemed to believe that natural resources were unlimited.

However, this misguided view began to change with the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972.

It was a milestone, marking the first global attempt to balance economic development with environmental preservation. The ideas planted there sparked the concept of sustainable development.

Twenty years later, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, known as ECO-92, took place in Rio de Janeiro. One hundred and seventy-two nations sent representatives to discuss global environmental issues.

At this conference, the issue of global warming was debated and addressed for the first time. The governments then committed to creating policies to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.

Other meetings happened later, such as Kyoto-97, Rio+10 (in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002), and Rio+20 (in Rio de Janeiro, in 2012).

These facts reveal that the world’s ecological awareness has grown every year. Today, it is very difficult to find someone who is not concerned about the fate of our planet and the world we will leave for our children.

The idea of caring for the Earth may sound new or revolutionary, but it has always been God’s will that humanity respect the environment and work for its preservation. So, does the Bible have anything to say about humanity’s relationship with the environment?