Comments on: The religon of environmentalism http://family-centered.com/life/the-religon-of-environmentalism/ ". . . when we say that the Church is a family, we mean it quite literally. The Church is not a reflection of the reality that is "family"—quite the opposite. The family is a reflection of the reality that is the Church." -Fr. Robert Johansen Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:34:41 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Kathryn http://family-centered.com/life/the-religon-of-environmentalism/comment-page-1/#comment-2593 Kathryn Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:00:32 +0000 http://family-centered.com/life/?p=899#comment-2593 I take both your point and Theresa's ... I think that quote about environmentalism energising the population control movement may well be correct - but the population control movement is only a subset of the environmental movement. My current bugbear is fuel. If we want the world's population, especially an increasing population, to eat, we simply cannot afford to go down the biofuels road. Did you know that crops needed to produce one tank of fuel for an SUV could feed a family for months? The headlong rush to grow crops for biofuels is literally taking food out of the mouths of the poor. I take both your point and Theresa’s … I think that quote about environmentalism energising the population control movement may well be correct – but the population control movement is only a subset of the environmental movement.

My current bugbear is fuel. If we want the world’s population, especially an increasing population, to eat, we simply cannot afford to go down the biofuels road. Did you know that crops needed to produce one tank of fuel for an SUV could feed a family for months? The headlong rush to grow crops for biofuels is literally taking food out of the mouths of the poor.

]]> By: Theresa http://family-centered.com/life/the-religon-of-environmentalism/comment-page-1/#comment-2591 Theresa Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:49:48 +0000 http://family-centered.com/life/?p=899#comment-2591 I think these are some valid criticisms of the environmental movement. But the thing is, as with any "religion," environmentalism has it's solid core of reasonable adherents, and also it's out-there wacko extremists. We should be careful not to define a movement (or religion) by it's extremes. Just as it is unfair to equate Mormonism with FLDS polygamists, Islam with terrorists, and Christianity with Jeremiah Wright, it is unfair to equate environmentalism with proponents of population control and abortion. Sure, they are out there, but they are also "out there" and they do not represent the majority of environmentalists, who are folks like me. My environmentalism and my Catholicism go hand in hand and there is no reason why a Catholic cannot proudly call him or herself an environmentalist. Stewardship of God's creation is our duty and privilege. And it is true that "population is the essential multiplier for any number of human ills." That just makes sense. More people more problems to deal with. BUT (big, big but!) that does NOT mean the solution is to get rid of the people! That's where the population control folks are short-sighted. The problems will not go away if there are fewer people, it will just make it easier to ignore the real problems, which are unjustice and inequity in distribution of wealth and resources worldwide, overconsumption, wars, and any number of other social ills that will be solved ONLY when we realize that EVERY life is precious from conception until natural death. I think these are some valid criticisms of the environmental movement. But the thing is, as with any “religion,” environmentalism has it’s solid core of reasonable adherents, and also it’s out-there wacko extremists. We should be careful not to define a movement (or religion) by it’s extremes. Just as it is unfair to equate Mormonism with FLDS polygamists, Islam with terrorists, and Christianity with Jeremiah Wright, it is unfair to equate environmentalism with proponents of population control and abortion. Sure, they are out there, but they are also “out there” and they do not represent the majority of environmentalists, who are folks like me. My environmentalism and my Catholicism go hand in hand and there is no reason why a Catholic cannot proudly call him or herself an environmentalist. Stewardship of God’s creation is our duty and privilege. And it is true that “population is the essential multiplier for any number of human ills.” That just makes sense. More people more problems to deal with. BUT (big, big but!) that does NOT mean the solution is to get rid of the people! That’s where the population control folks are short-sighted. The problems will not go away if there are fewer people, it will just make it easier to ignore the real problems, which are unjustice and inequity in distribution of wealth and resources worldwide, overconsumption, wars, and any number of other social ills that will be solved ONLY when we realize that EVERY life is precious from conception until natural death.

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