Green Is the Color of Peace

1
Green Is the Color of Peace

• Exploring the inter-relationship of environmental
  stresses
• and human conflict

2
Workshop Objectives

• Discuss the global environmental crisis
• Identify the inter-relationship between
  ecological/environmental stresses and human
  conflict
• Explore ways in which people/communities of
  faith can help prevent or reduce
  environmentally-based stresses upon human
  communities

3
Ecological crises
4
Climate Change
5
Global Warming
6
Melting of Arctic Ice
7
Rising Sea Levels

• Rising sea levels
• Result in land loss along coastal zones,
  including wetlands, marshes, islands
• Increase salinity of fresh water, reducing
  supplies
• Decrease biodiversity along the shoreline
• Impact food chain for population
• Displace populations
• Diminish economic opportunities and create
  political crises

8
Global Warming
9
Coral Reef Contamination Loss
Caribbean Brain Coral loss
1959
1988
1998
Loss of coral reefs, coupled with overfishing,
depletes fish population impacting food supplies
and economic wellbeing of fishing industries.
10
Environmental Stress

• Environmental stress results from a gradual
  decline of the capacity of natural resources to
  continuously meet the ever-expanding human needs
  and aspirations of a given society.
  Consequently, the natural resource backstop
  suddenly (but more often gradually) collapses
  leading to tragic human conflict.
• (Robert Ddamulira, Conflict from Environmental
  Stress The New Leading Cause of Human Conflict,
  2007)

11
Population Growth

• Rapid population growth is the principle
  exogenous factor, which has stimulated increase
  in environmental stress contributing to
  agricultural stagnation relative to population
  size.
• Population growth has been such that Africans
  have been unable to adapt their traditional
  agricultural land-use, wood-use, and other
  livelihood practices fast enough to respond to
  the pressure of more people on the fixed stock of
  natural resources. (A.S. Jeffrey, et. al.,
  Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests Africa,
  1992)

12
Rival

• 1577, from L. rivalis "a rival," originally, "one
  who uses the same stream" (or "one on the
  opposite side of the stream"), from rivus
  "brook. The notion is of the competitiveness of
  neighbors. The verb is first attested 1605.

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Conflicts Arising Over Limited Resources

• Land (private, public, borders, territories,
  etc.)
• Water (potable, irrigation, access rights, etc.)
• Timber (domestic use, energy, export, etc.)
• Minerals (diamonds, copper, gold, etc.)
• Oil Natural Gas (domestic use, export, etc.)
• Other?

14
Darfur
FRESH WATER DEPLETION RESULTS IN NOMADIC
TRIBES SETTLING IN DISPUTED VALLEYS
15
Population Displacement

• 1998 was the first year in which the number of
  refugees from natural disasters exceeded those
  displaced by war.
• (Achieving Sustainability, Poverty
  Elimination, and the Environment, Department
  for International Development (UK), 2000)
• There are twice as many refugees from
  environmental stress as from war around the
  world.
• 
  (Zenat Badawi, Desertification
  impact BBC (UK), 2006)

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Conflicts over Limited Resources

• Some conflicts revolve around the exportation and
  trade of highly valued luxury goods and some
  around necessities for immediate survival.
  Throughout history violence has emerged over
  luxury natural resources such as precious metals,
  precious stones, precious wood, ivory, fur,
  exotic plants and animals, and geographically
  limited crops such as cocoa, coffee, and rubber.
  Such goods were often stolen through violent
  oppression and colonial rule, but today they are
  exchanged for cash that fuels extreme violence
  among desperately poor populations.
• (

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Deforestation Biodiversity loss
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Impact of Deforestation

• Destruction of natural habitat
• Displacement of animal life
• Loss of biodiversity (plant and animal life)
• Potential extinction of tribal population (e.g.,
• Amazon, Indonesia)
• Erosion and destabilization of land mass
• Negative impact on local and global CO2 levels
• Other?

19
Competition for Resources

• In your country, what environmental stresses can
  you identify?
• What natural resources do people compete for and
  how has that rivalry been evident?
• Who wins and who loses?
• What impact has this had upon the local
  environment and people in general?

20
Additional challenges that impact the global
environment

• Energy povertylack of access to energy results
  in diminished capacity to develop, to access
  global information/education sources, to
  communicate, etc. also pressure to advance
  non-clean energy sources
• Healthcarelack of access to affordable and
  reliable healthcare also loss of biodiversity
  lessens natural sources for pharmaceuticals

21
ENERGY POVERTY
22
Loss of Biodiversity

• If species continue to decline in number at the
  present rate, pharmaceutical companies will find
  it harder to develop new drugs and agriculture
  will lose an irreplaceable source of potential
  new crops.
• Eric Chivian, director of the Center for Health
  and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical
  School, United States.

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Conservation or Innovationwhich way to go?

• Conservationcradle to cradle development
  (manufacturing goods that are designed to be
  recycled, reusable, or biodegradable, leaving no
  waste ) international treaties energy
  efficiency planned development cleaning up the
  land, water, air, etc.
• Innovationclean electrons renewable energy
  (solar, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, etc.)
  energy independence (not reliant on imports)
  green technology, etc.

24
Innovation with renewable energy
25
Estimates of Potential Contribution of Renewable
Energy Resources

• Concentrating solar power (CSP)
• Seven states in the U.S. Southwest could provide
  more than 7,000 GW of solar generating
  capacitynearly seven times U.S. electric
  capacity from all sources.
• Solar water heaters
• Could easily provide half the worlds hot water.
• Rooftop solar cells
• Could provide 10 percent of grid electricity in
  the United States by 2030.
• Wind power
• Could easily provide 20 percent of worlds
  electricity Offshore wind farms could meet all
  of the European Unions electricity needs.
• Geothermal heat
• Could provide 100 GW of generating capacity in
  the United States alone.
• Wave and ocean thermal energy
• Contribution could be on same order of magnitude
  as current world energy use.
• (Source Worldwatch Report,2008)

26
Biblical narratives that speak to the ethic of
Creation-care

• Adamic responsibility ethicGenesis 1 2
  dominion over the earth and responsibility for
  its care respecting the relationship of
  symbiosis with other parts of the created order
• Noahic protective ethicGenesis 6-8 protective
  responsibility to ensure all species survive
  providing an ark of safety
• Mosaic accountability ethicDeuteronomy
  organized, structural, and legislative protection
  for all people in society identifies abuses of
  behavior seeks ways to share community resources
• Jesus redemptive ethicGospels spirit of
  redemption reclaims what is otherwise lost
  seeks justice for the poor and marginalized

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Questions to Address

• What conservation measures would improve the
  environment and the welfare of people in your
  home setting?
• What technological innovations would be welcomed
  to advance the quality of life for humans,
  animal, and plants?
• What biblical narrative ethic(s) inspire(s) the
  most realistic activity for your
  churchesteaching and owning responsibility
  (Adamic) intervening and protecting endangered
  life (Noahic) advocating legislative actions and
  holding economic/political/social structures
  accountable in order to protect vulnerable life
  (Mosaic) redeeming and reclaiming
  lost/polluted/damaged resources (Jesus)?
• What else can/should we do as people of faith to
  improve the care of the earth and its people?

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Photographic sources

• Worldwatch Report, 2008
• Global Climate Change, www.exploratorium.edu
• Reuters, www.independent.co.uk, 30 May 2008
• www.exergy.se
• www.pestaola.gr
• www.terradaily.com
• www.cr.middlebury.edu
• www.world-issues.info
• www.msnbc.msn.com (Nassar Nassar AP)
• www.pubs.usgs.gov
• www.american.edu
• www.climaticidechronicles.org
• www.fusenow.org