Green Living is More Than Recycling

Tonight I'm reading an article related to my work with Eden Reforestation Projects titled "The lowdown on topsoil: It's disappearing" with the subheading, "Disappearing dirt rivals global warming as an environmental threat." Much of the content in the article relates to the loss of topsoil in Seattle area, which makes sense since the article appeared last year in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.But this quote really caught my attention:

The United Nations has warned of worldwide soil degradation -- especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where soil loss has contributed to the rapidly increasing number of malnourished people.

I am reminded once again that creation care (AKA environmental stewardship) is So. Much. Bigger than saving, preserving and restoring the environment. Being green is first and foremost about reducing poverty and suffering. As Matthew Sleeth says in Serve God, Save the Planet, "the poor are the least able to escape the ravages of a climate gone ill." The lives of the poor are so incredibly fragile, and as their environment degrades, the effects have a profoundly damaging, domino effect on their lives. They lose shelter, clean water, livelihood and basic safety as soil is washed away, droughts persist, animals disappear, and food cannot be grown or found.

Give up a cup of coffee at Starbucks this week and plant 35 trees. Stay home and skip the latest summer flick and plant 85 trees. Get 10 friends to do the same and plant hundreds!

OK, I'll stop. But just for now. Get me off your back and go to www.edenprojects.org. Nighty night....

Deforestation in Haiti

Just heard an amazing story on NPR about Haiti & their deforestation crisis. This is all the more cool because this past Monday (a whole two days ago) I met with a man who has gone to Haiti six times in the last 4 years on medical missions. When he heard about the work of Eden Projects, he wanted to meet and talk through the possibilities of us going to Haiti next.

Best of all, Eden has already been asked by another group to come down, and plans are tentatively set for this October to scout out the potential for Eden to get started. This story on NPR motivates me even more to be involved with reforestation. The more I learn, the more evident it appears that something needs to be done. Now.

Eden Projects is on track to plant 3.5 million trees this year in Ethiopia and Madagascar. The plan is to double our planting rate each year for the next five years, getting to the point of planting 100 million trees. This is crazy and lofty - but necessary. As Steve Fitch, the founder of Eden Projects says, if we can't plant 100 million trees a year, we shouldn't even bother. Anything less would be like going to Skid Row and feeding one person a single meal.

Please be praying for me as I try to recruit churches and businesses to join Eden Reforestation Projects in this work. I will also be inviting former students of mine to get involved by starting chapters on their campuses that will support Eden by seeking ways big and small to raise funds and awareness. Thanks. Go to www.edenprojects.org and scroll down to the videos at the bottom to learn more.