Global Concerns

Christian beliefs about the world
1. Stewardship
  1. Many people, not just christians, believe that they have a duty or responsibility to look after the planet and everything on it.
    1. Christians believe in looking after the planet on God's behalf
      1. "God called the dry ground " earth" and the watere that had gathered together "Seas". God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:10
        "I establish my new covenant with you and your decendants and with every living creature that was with you" Genesis 9:8
Environmental problems
1. Waste
  1. Lots of people waste things like food while others go without and starve
  2. People like farmers and manufacturers spend long periods of time making things which often are quickly thrown away, wasted, or not used to there full potential
    1. Some supermarkets buy more food than there going to sell and end up throwing lots of it away
    2. People buy things, like plastic bottles, and only use them once. they then end up taking decades or centuries to biodegrade when they could be used over and over again
2. Pollution
  1. Fossil fuels
    1. Lots of things that make lots of the thing we take for granted possible are unsustainable
      1. Most fossil fuels will run out soon
        It's difficult to transport them
        There have been lots of oil spills which greatly damage the environment
    2. They relise harmful gasses into the atmosfere which harms the environment
      1. The harmful gasses, like CO2, also hams humans; like in Bejing
  2. Many things, like plastic bottle are quickly thrown away and go on landfills
    1. This can destroy natural habitats or land that could be used to grown food
3. Climate Change
  1. Climate change is where the planet permanatly warms up
    1. It can be natural
    2. Or it can be induced
      1. Climate change nowadays has been/ is being brought about by human activity
        We're burning to much fossil fuels and this is reliesing CO2
        Some of the CO2 is being taken in by plants and the sea but lots of it is lingering in the atmosphere and traping the suns heat
    3. It is having some disasterus consequences
      1. Ice caps are melting, this could lead to the extinction of many tundra animals
      2. Because there's more liquid water there can be more floods, which might lead to the washing away of more habitats
        With more floods it will be harder for us to grow food
  2. People are cutting down lots of trees, mostly in the rainforrests
    1. This is leading to all kinds of bad things
      1. Habitats are being destroyed
        This is leading to the possible extiction of lots of animals and plants which might infact have great medicinal properties
Individual and community responses
1. The three Rs
  1. People can reduce the harm they do on the planet
    1. They can obstain from buying things with exessive packaging
    2. They can also save energy buy instead of useing energy for heating they can put on an extra layer or a nice jumper
  2. People can reuse things so they they don't end up on landfills
    1. People can reuse and save plastic bags for things like shopping instead of throwning them away after one use
      1. The same can be said for bottles, instead of throwing away a bottle people could keep it and reuse it as a water bottle or something like that
    2. Also lots of natural waste products like old bits of food and feaces could be put in a compost heap and used to fertilized gardens or farms
  3. People can recycle things
    1. By recycling people get rid off things they need or want and they can be used to make something useful
2. People can reduce the amount of cars pumping things like CO2 into the atmosphere by buying things that have been made localy, instead of getting things shipped from half way across the world
  1. By doing this people would invest more money into their local comunities so the area can become rich and invest in more environmetaly friendly things
    1. I heard of some people in the U.S who came up with an exelent response that can be use by individuals or community
      1. It's the repleacment of concreate roads with solar panled ones
        It's responses that can help the environment
3. National and international responses
  1. Many countries, like the UK, trying to find non-environment-harming alternitives to things they need and want
    1. Other countries, like Brazil are tying to cut down the damidge the do on the environment by not cutting down so much of the rain forrest
    2. In 2006 Lord Stern, an economist, published a 700 page paper on how it would economicly beneficial to cease impacting the environment
  2. Many countries are now buying into greener souces of energy like solar panels and wind farms
  3. Many christians do, and are encouridged by their leaders to, help the environment
    1. Our own Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, with the bishop of London, call for a cut of personal carbon emmisians during lent
    2. Even Pope Benedict has help; by putting 2700 solar panels on the roof of the Vatican to heat it. He critisiezed the "Unbalanced use of energy in the world
Respect
1. Christians are told to activly help other people and the planet
A World Divided
1. In the world recorses are not shered equaly and as a result people suffer
  1. Each day about 40000 children starve to death
  2. Half of all adults own only 1% of the world's welth while the richest 1% of people own 40% of the world's wealth
  3. In many rich countries obesity is a problem while in other countries malnuetritian is a massive problem
2. Lots of the time poverty is caused my natural disasters but other times it is brought on by people
  1. In zimbabwe the government took farmland of experiancied white owners and gave it to some of the government's black suporters but many farms were looted and fell into disuse.
    1. Now many there is hyperinflation, many people strugling to find food and other people fleeing the country
3. Causes of poverty
  1. Drought
    1. Drought can cause crops to fail thus leadining to widespread famine and starvaton
      1. Then many workers get weaker or die so projects that might help people might cease
        A lack of workers means a lack of people to provide care for the hungry and sick
        With lmore people dieing of starvation there's less farmers to harvest food and less people to carry out government healthcare inisiatives that could rejuvinate the nation
        Bad governance and corruption can lead to the wasting of resorses
  2. Also conflict would take farmers and workers away from helping people and growing food
    1. Plus attacks on properties might destroy farms, homes, factories and hospitals
4. Christian responses
  1. Many christians help the poor by giving money to homeless people
  2. While others organize or partake in charity events like marathons and bake sales
  3. While others have set up or help out in charities like christian aid and compasion

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	Created by finnscowan almost 9 years ago