A couple of weeks back, we discussed that part of our creation mandate (in the first few chapters of Genesis) is to watch over and care for creation (remember the significance of the Hebrew word ‘avad’). This week we will be doing a little of that ‘watching’ by listening to some experts and viewing some important environmental statistics.
In 1993, Harvard biologist E.O Wilson did some ‘watching’ and estimated that the earth is currently losing somewhere along the lines of 30 000 species per year, which works out to 3 species an hour! This obviously threatens the very fabric of the delicate and intricate relational interconnectedness of God’s creation to such a degree that many scientists are describing this age as “the world’s 6th great extinction.”
Dr Debra Roberts, who is Deputy Head of the Environmental Management Department in Durban, says:
“The current Sixth Extinction is a patently human-caused event. There is little doubt that humans are the direct cause of ecosystem stress and species destruction in the modern world through activities such as transformation of the landscape, human-induced climate change, overexploitation of species, pollution and the introduction of alien species.”
I know that stats can sometimes be a little dreary to hear, but I think these are important and actually quite scary. For example, did you know that? …
• Less than 1% of the world’s fresh water is readily accessible for direct human use. Melting polar ice caps and glaciers mean that less and less is becoming available every year. Although we don’t use all our present fresh water supply, we can’t really take much more because of the strain it will put on the rest of creation. Increasing meat eaters and the devastating effect of bio-fuels is putting further huge strain on water supplies.
• Freshwater fish populations are in precipitous decline. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, fish stocks in lakes and rivers have fallen roughly 30% since 1970. This is a bigger population fall than that suffered by animals in jungles, temperate forests, savannahs and any other large ecosystem.
• 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease.
• At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.
• Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease.
• The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.
Yet, this crisis just may get worse, because many experts believe as good water supplies diminish future world wars could centre on the control of water. In fact, already:
• U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly identified water shortage as a major underlying cause of the conflict in Darfur, western Sudan, which began with a rebellion against the central government seven years ago. Water is also a major issue between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
Although hearing such statistics can give us something of a sensory overload, I do think they help to educate and motivate us all into making a difference. What do you think about all this? Why don’t you fill out a Crux feedback form and get back to us – we might even feature your opinion in next week’s article.