The ecological crisis and the role of churches

The ecology crisis raises the problem of survival itself. Moreover, there is a growing awareness
of the organic link between the destruction of the environment and socio economic and political
justice.

A majority of the poor are also landless. Agriculture development helps the rich landlords and
not the poor. The poor in the slums of our cities are squeezed into small hovels and their struggle
is simply for living space. Yet, to enhance and expand their comforts, the rich continually
destroy whatever is left for the poor: their villages, their forest, and their people. Pg 64

The ecology crisis is rightly the cry of the poor. Their experience of deprivation and exploitation
is linked with the environment degradation and, therefore, their perspective on these problems
should be the starting point of our discussion. It is integral to their struggle for justice and
liberation, and basically it is about preserving the integrity of creation. Committed scientists and
other ecologists have helped us to deepen our understanding of the ecological problem. In the
past, nature was thought to be an object for ruthless exploitation by the developers and scientist
for the good of humans. Little thought was given to the perils of environment destruction. A
sense of optimism prevailed among them about the capability of science to tame nature. Those
who raised any voice more and more scientist are joining others with a crusading zeal, to make
people aware of the ecological disasters. Marshalling convincing scientific data, tell us that the
environment degradation caused by massive pollution of air, water and land, threatens the very
life of earth; fast depletion of nonrenewal resources, indeed of species themselves, the thinning
of the ozone layer that exposes all living creatures to the danger of radiation, the buildup of gases
creating the greenhouse effect, increasing erosion by the sea-all these are brought out through
their research. Pg 65

Perspectives
Growth model must be changed

The ecological crisis is created by modern industrial and technological growth, and modern
lifestyle. A paradigm of development, the western industrial growth model, is almost universally
accepted. It is a process whereby we use enormous capital and exploit natural resources,
particularly the nonrenewable ones. Ruthless exploitation of nature and fellow beings is the
inevitable consequences of his pattern of development. Decisions about the kind of goods to be
produced and the type of technology to be used are influenced by the demand of consumerist
economy where the controlling logic of growth for the benefit of the dominant classes. Much of
the profit oriented growth, which destroys the eco-balance, is engineered and controlled by the
multinationals of USA, Europe and Japan. Industrial pollution has risen alarmingly. Over use of
fertilizers is turning the farmlands into deserts, and the fishes in the seas and rivers are dying.
Human demands for food and power are increasing faster than the resources, which are, in fact,
dwindling. It is recognized that the negative impact of people on environment is the product of
three factors: the total population, the amount of resources consumed by each person and the
environmental destruction caused by each person. All three continue to increase, especially
because of the demands by new life-styles. The wasteful lifestyle of the rich, and the
irresponsible use of natural resources add a peculiar burden on the ecosystem.