The James Burns Website My Insight Website, For What It's Worth

Searching for a unified concept of ecology

I have friends who are environmentalists. I have friends who are capitalists who are concerned with the economic impact of what the environmentalists are attempting to do. Unfortunately, politics also play a role in the debate.

In the beginning

According to the Judeo Christian way of thinking, nature is fallen. Genesis chapter 3 says ” cursed is the ground for your sake, thorns and thistles it will bring forth”. This has been seen by those who oppose Christianity as the basis for western cultures misuse of the planets resources, and is therefore used as an argument, or at least a reason for environmentalists to oppose Christian thought.

In actuality, western cultures misuse of the planet has its beginnings in the first part of the Genesis story, that is, mans fallen nature, which destroyed relationships in 4 key areas:

• Spiritual

• Psychological

• Sociological

• Ecological

The Nature of man

If mans nature is fallen in each of these areas, the resultant cause of global environmental abuse is not found in Christianity as such, but in the greed which results from that fallen nature. In other words, Christian thought is not to blame for the problem, but is the only thought form which adequately explains the dilemma, and until this is understood, substantial progress with the problem can not be made.

Controlling the effects of fallen nature

We make daily efforts to control the results of nature’s being fallen. We deal with thorns and thistles, and bugs and weeds. We have to mow the lawn. We have to weed the garden. We must deal with insects and grass burs. That is the nature of nature, but that is not the problem.

Controlling the nature of man

The problem is the nature of man!  The answer to this problem is to be found in controlling the results of the greed inherent in the human family. If greed is inherent in human nature (anyone who is truly honest with themselves knows this to be true) then dealing with the greed, or working with the knowledge of the greed will offer the best basis to begin.

Learn to separate fact from fiction

First I would say, that one goal of those who are concerned with the health of our environment should learn to separate fact and fiction inside the environmental community. There is enough truth to our environmental concerns to make them important without falsifying information.

Separate emotions from reality

Second, we should be able to separate our emotional responses from reality. What I mean is this. We should not let our dislike, or distrust of a corporation stand in the way of our progress. Painting “X” brand as the devil, will lessen our ability to influence them.

Find a way to make reality work

Third, we should find a way to make the greed which exists work for our environment instead of against it. If we know that men are greedy by nature, and that we can not change their nature, then we must find ways to make that nature work for the common good. Instead of opposing the market economy, we should make that economy work for us instead of attempting to replace it with another system which will also be bound by mans greedy nature.

Adam Smith was right, society works best when each individual is seeking his own self interests. That is the way it works in a world in which greed is the dominant feature. Recognizing this is the first step in recovery.

This is true, if what we seek is real progress in the environment, but if the environmentalist goal is to replace the free market system with a socialist system, then the environment is being used as a political tool to further a different agenda. If this is the case, this should anger true environmentalists as much as the greed of the corporations!

What we can do:

With the enormous brain power present in the environmental community, it should be possible to find ways to make being green pay. This works for both the green community and the capitalists. If it becomes cheaper to recycle than to harvest dwindling resources, then recycling will become the norm. This kills two birds with one stone!

We should become a community of scientists and discoverers instead of a community of protesters. Protesting is fine, but along with the protests, we should offer viable alternatives.