This is an amazing documentary. While compiling images of the our planet from the air, Yann Arthus-Bertrand got turned on to environmentalism. The perspective you get while taking aerial photographs provides considerable insight into the scale of the problems facing our environment. In a true act of beneficence, Arthus-Bertrand encouraged people to spread this video around to publicize the cause. We have hosted the full 91 minute video on our sister site, Vidipedia.org, for everyone to view and enjoy without advertising.

A recent article on Enviroknow highlighted a study that points out that religious believers are much more likely to take environmental positions after being briefly familiarized with arguments for religious stewardship of the planet. These arguments can be very powerful and worthwhile to utilize if possible.

http://www.enviroknow.com/2011/12/13/religion-climate-change-poll/

After being presented with arguments for and against a spiritual obligation to act as good stewards of the environment, 3/4 of “believers” were convinced, with 23% strongly convinced and 50% somewhat convinced.

The problem with this study is that the arguments being presented were entirely abstracted from any specific argument one could make in the wild:

We have a spiritual obligation to be responsible stewards of God’s creation in our actions, and to support those with a spiritual calling to work to protect the environment. We cannot claim to love God while abusing his creation.

This was contrasted with:

We cannot know what God wants us to do with His creation; therefore it is presumptuous for humans to think they are acting to protect His creation. Rather we should leave the fate of the Earth in God’s hands.

as the manipulation of the experiment. So what then is an actual argument one could make?

When I was a kid my step-father told me a story about how he would engage fellow Mormons with a very specific faith-based environmental stewardship appeal. The argument he used was based on the ‘Parable of the Ten Gold Coins’. This parable is typically used to exalt the benefits of trade but one could very easily see it as speaking about the benefits of doing well with God’s natural endowment.

They were nearing Jerusalem, where the Jews were hoping a new kingdom would be established if Jesus was truly the Messiah. Thus, Jesus told them this parable about a nobleman who went abroad to receive a kingdom and then return: Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten gold coins, and said to them, ‘Invest these till I return.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ Upon his return with the kingship, he summoned the servants that he might know what they had gained by trading. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your money has made ten additional ones.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your gold coins have made 5 more.’ And he said to him, ‘Come rule over five cities.’ But one came saying, ‘Lord, here is your gold coin, which I kept laid away in a napkin; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘Your own words have condemned you, you wicked servant! If you knew I was a severe man, then why did you not put my money in the bank, and I could have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the gold coin from him, and give it to him who has the ten. I tell you, that to every one who has will more be given; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’” And when he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

There are definitely more specific Biblical verses though that one could quote. You may want to familiarize yourself with some of these if you know any people of faith who oppose responsible environmental stewardship.

http://christianteens.about.com/od/understandingyourbible/qt/ScriptureEnvironment.htm

For now, just a simple shout out to the New Yorker for a great cover design a few months ago.

BP Gives Unlimited Behind-the-Scenes Access to One Woman, Who Says BP’s Response is Fake: Clean-Up Equipment Taken Away as Soon as Officials Leave

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2010/06/bp-gives-unlimited-behind-scenes-access.html

BP is accused of destroying the wildlife and coastline of America, but if you look back into history you find that BP did something even worse to America.

They gave the world Ayatollah Khomeini.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2010/06/post.html

AP Photographer Charlie Riedel just filed the following images of seabirds caught in the oil slick on a beach on Louisiana’s East Grand Terre Island.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

And finally, what would kind of area would the oil slick cover in different parts of the world?
http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/

Then today’s your unlucky, depressing day:



Horrible, just horrible.

From NPR:

The Coast Guard has estimated the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico at 5,000 barrels a day. But a scientist analyzing a newly released video of the leak says it’s at least 10 times that amount. That means the oil spilling into the Gulf has already far exceeded the amount lost in the Exxon Valdez accident. NPR science correspondent Richard Harris talks to Michele Norris about the new estimate.

Independent Scientists and Engineers Need Access to This Video!
It has become clear that BP has been monitoring the gushing oil leaks in the Gulf of Mexico almost from the start, and that if they wanted to they could release video to show people what is really going on. But so far they have kept tight control over access to the video feeds and all that we could get our hands on are those still images showing the leak (notice the depth on the left: 4957.5 feet!).

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/first-underwater-images-of-bp-oil-spill-wont-show-video.php

Since stories have started surfacing more recently, many have wondered, if the rumors are true. Are there really ‘continents’, or massive
floating garbage patches residing in the pacific ocean? Apparently, the rumors are true, and these unsightly patches are reportedly
killing marine life and releasing poisons that enter the human food chain, as well.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2007/12/are-there-reall.html

EDMONTON – An independent study suggests pollution from Alberta’s oilsands is nearly five times greater and twice as widespread as industry figures say.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/735399–oilsands-pollution-exceeds-official-estimates-study?bn=1

Thousands of west Africans besieged local hospitals in 2006, and a number died, after the dumping of hundreds of tonnes of highly toxic oil waste around the country’s capital, Abidjan. Official local autopsy reports on 12 alleged victims appeared to show fatal levels of the poisonous gas hydrogen sulphide, one of the waste’s lethal byproducts.

Trafigura has been publicly insisting for three years that its waste was routine and harmless. It claims it was “absolutely not dangerous”.

It has until now denied compensation claims, and its lawyers repeatedly threatened anyone worldwide who sought to contradict its version. It launched a libel case against BBC Newsnight, forced an alleged correction from the Times, demanded the Guardian delete articles, and yesterday tried to gag journalists in the Netherlands and Norway with legal threats.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/16/trafigura-african-pollution-disaster?