essay about mother earth is crying

EarthBeat a project of National Catholic Reporter

Advertisement

Free Newsletters

Sign up now

American Meteorological Society's multifaith project responds to Earth's cry

A member of the Puerto Rico National Guard wades through water Sept. 19, 2022, in search for people to be rescued from flooded streets in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona in Salinas, Puerto Rico. (CNS/Ricardo Arduengo)

by Carlos Martinez

View Author Profile

Join the Conversation

Editor's note: EarthBeat is publishing a series of essays on the goals of the Laudato Si' Action Platform from speakers at the 2023 "Laudato Si' and the U.S. Catholic Church" conference, held virtually throughout June and July and co-sponsored by Creighton University and Catholic Climate Covenant. This essay is on the Laudato Si' Goal "Response to the cry of the Earth."

When someone cries for help, usually we go to that person and ask, "What is wrong? Are you okay?" We spend time listening to their concerns, situation or plea, tend to their needs, call emergency personnel or even pray. This response embodies the Catholic directive to love your neighbor as yourself ( Matthew 22:39 ). 

Today, Mother Earth is crying for help. As a climate scientist, I hear this cry through my research in the Caribbean assessing future changes in rainfall, an important commodity for farmers, water managers and other inhabitants in the region. Consequently, it is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change impacts due to losses in biodiversity from warmer temperatures, and increases in flash flooding, droughts and hurricane activity. 

I have witnessed the devastating impacts — my own family in Puerto Rico experienced 135 days without power following Hurricane Maria. 

My Catholic faith tradition instills a deep sense of care and responsibility for the world. Furthermore, Catholic social teaching fosters a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of all life and promotes responsible actions for the care of our common home.

Henry Zeller, a homeless man who lives out of an RV on the street, stops to drink water to stay hydrated during the extreme heat in Los Angeles July 16. (AP/Richard Vogel)

In recent weeks, the planet has experienced its hottest days ever recorded. Last year, reports from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned of heat waves, floods and droughts becoming more frequent and intense than in the past. We see these consequences of climate change reverberating throughout the United States, across diverse regions, directly impacting the local ecosystems and communities that rely on them.

In the Western United States , scorching heat waves and drought have resulted in major concerns regarding water security. 

The Great Plains , where 80% of the area is used for agriculture, faces the challenge of heat waves and drought that increase soil erosion and decline water resources, impacting crop yields and food production. 

The northern United States has experienced a lengthened pollen season and a warmer, wetter climate that extends suitable habitats for disease-carrying ticks, mosquitoes and other insects. 

Coastal communities, including Puerto Rico and Hawaii, face erosion from sea-level rise. Meanwhile, intense hurricanes and increased coral bleaching threaten marine wildlife. 

In Alaska's fishing communities , melting permafrost and sea ice depletion diminish natural resources. 

Small waves crash into reinforced seawalls on Oct. 4, 2022, in Shishmaref, Alaska, where the island Inupiat community faces rising sea levels, flooding, increased erosion and loss of protective sea ice and land. (AP/Jae C. Hong)

The Earth's cry is heard beyond the realms of modern science and the Catholic faith, too. Indigenous knowledge holders hear it through the devastating impacts extreme weather and climate change have on their sacred lands. Whether you live in a mountainous region seeing less snow than before, an area where wildfire season has lengthened, or a coastal town witnessing polluted waters, your experiences with the local environment can provide a deep sensitivity to Mother Earth's cry, if you're listening.

In the face of such expansive environmental crises, we must respond with urgency and unity. This response requires the collaboration of communities from all faiths, belief systems, and backgrounds, because the care of our common home requires cooperation with everyone.

That's why I developed and now lead the American Meteorological Society's Committee on Spirituality, Multifaith Outreach, and Science (COSMOS), which brings together scientists, faith leaders, government agencies and Indigenous knowledge holders to promote a multidimensional approach to environmental stewardship.

Through partnering with faith organizations and the U.S. National Weather Service in its Weather-Ready Nation program , COSMOS provides educational and material assistance to faith organizations in becoming weather- and climate-ready hubs with increased preparedness for natural disasters. For example, COSMOS helps houses of worship connect with local weather service personnel, receive weather radios, and train congregations to prepare and properly respond to hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires or other weather extremes.

People walk by a formerly sunken boat standing upright into the air with its stern buried in the mud along the shoreline of the drought-stricken Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Jan. 27 near Boulder City, Nevada. (AP/John Locher, File)

Additionally, COSMOS develops sessions, initiatives, webinars and other programming on community climate mitigation and resilience and environmental justice, and public communication on environmentalism. 

For example, COSMOS' publicly available "Finding Common Ground Amongst Science, Spirituality, and Environmentalism" webinar series brings together spiritual leaders of all backgrounds to converse with weather, water and climate professionals. 

We also developed the first-ever town hall and presidential session on Indigenous and Earth system science at the 2023 American Meteorological Society annual meeting, where Indigenous leaders highlighted the value of Indigenous voices in the weather, water and climate community, and discussed ways to partner on environmentalism. 

The Catholic Climate Covenant and the Laudato Si' Movement are among those faith organizations that COSMOS has partnered with in their mission to address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and ecological sustainability. COSMOS provided scientific literature and expertise in the development of the Catholic Climate Covenant's Wholemakers creation care curriculum for young adults.

We have also partnered with multifaith organizations such as GreenFaith and Interfaith Power and Light to develop community gathering events between their affiliates and professionals in the weather, water and climate community to promote relationships and community-centered environmental projects. 

Working in tandem with the U.S. Centers for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, COSMOS has linked even more faith-based and spiritual partners. By connecting more groups in this space, we streamline funding resources, grants and federal initiatives that support houses of worship in their transitions to become more environmentally friendly.

The cry of the Earth is both a call for help and a call to action. The scientific evidence of climate change impacts leaves no room for complacency; God entrusts us with the responsibility to be stewards of creation. Just as we are called to respond to human cries for help, so too must we respond to the cry of the Earth with love, compassion and action. As Catholics, we are called to be caretakers of God's creation, recognizing that our response to the cry of the Earth is rooted in our faith and in our shared humanity. 

Then, by fostering interdisciplinary and multifaith collaboration, we can amplify our efforts to protect and restore the Earth. Through sustainable practices, conservation initiatives, and political advocacy that prioritizes the well-being of both people and the planet, we become agents of change. And in doing so, we can bring hope to the world and ensure a sustainable and thriving planet for future generations.

Most Read Stories

#1 Archbishop Viganò says he faces schism charges from Vatican's doctrinal office

#2 Catholic group launches 'Masses for Trump' project

#3 I love the Catholic Church — despite what some call 'tradition'

#4 Amazon religious sister: Francis hasn't given final word on women deacons

In this series.

Lexington Diocese, in heart of coal country, commits to net-zero emissions

In the Philippines, Catholic priests tackle plastic waste brick by brick

Fordham University set to invest in environmental justice with $50 million EPA grant

Subscribe to EarthBeat's Free Newsletters

Select any of the newsletters below, then enter your email address and click "subscribe"

• Our Hamlets
• Plum Village Practice Centers
• Articles & News
• Sister Chan Khong
• Dharma Teachers
• Becoming a Monastic
• Extended Biography
• Calligraphy
• Memorial Week
• Memorial Practice Resources
• Share your Gratitude
• Condolence Letters
• Retreats Calendar
• Volunteering
• Sample Schedule
• Contributions
• Cancellation & Refunds
• Programs for Children and Teens
• Practicalities
• Days of Mindfulness
• Extended Stay at Plum Village
• Extended Practices
• 5 Mindfulness Trainings
• 14 Mindfulness Trainings
• Dharma Talks
• Questions & Answers
• Texts for Mindfulness Practices
• Mindfulness Apps
• Monastic Practice Centers
• Find a local group
• Wake Up network (young adults)
• Wake Up Schools (teacher training)
• The Order of Interbeing
• Organic Happy Farms
• Mindfulness Bell Magazine
• The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation

— Site Language

— follow plum village, — plum village practice centers.

Plum Village France

Lieu dit Le Pey 24240 Thénac France

Healing Spring Monastery

2 Rue Pascal Jardin 77510 Verdelot France

Maison de l’Inspir

8 Rue des Fans 77510 Villeneuve-sur-Bellot France

Lotus Pond Temple Ngong Ping Lantau Island Hong Kong

Schaumburgweg 3 D-51545 Waldbröl Germany

Magnolia Grove Monastery

123 Towles Rd Batesville Mississippi United States

Blue Cliff Monastery

3 Mindfulness Road NY 12566 Pine Bush New York United States

Deer Park Monastery

2499 Melru Lane 92026 Escondido California United States

Thai Plum Village

Pong Ta Long 30130 Pak Chong District Nakhon Ratchasima Thailand

Stream Entering Monastery

530 Porcupine Ridge Road VIC 3461 Porcupine Ridge Australia

Mountain Spring Monastery

2657 Bells Line of Road 2758 Bilpin New South Wales Australia

• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Press & Media
• Cookie Settings

Can you hear Mother Earth?

A special message from Sister Chan Khong Plum Village, July 2016

A DESPERATE CALL FOR HELP FROM MOTHER EARTH

Dear Citizens of the Earth,

Forty-six years ago, in 1970, I was a young biologist present at a ground-breaking meeting between Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and six leading scientists in Menton in the south of France.

We met to address the damage that was being done to the Earth through human misuse of technology, the penetration into food-chains of poisonous substances and the mounting exploitation of natural resources. Together, our small group of seven scientists issued The Menton Statement in 1970, which was published in Le Monde and The New York Times in 1971 and signed by over 2,000 scientists in 25 countries.

It was one of the very first international statements by scientists to raise concern about environmental destruction and the urgent need to protect the Earth.

Our group also established a pioneering NGO, which we called “Đại Đồng Thế Giới” (World of Great Togetherness). We met with the United Nations Secretary-General and played a key role in preparing the ground for the UN Stockholm Conference on the Environment—the first of its kind—that took place a year later in june 1972. Ahead of the talks, we held a civil society conference and issued an “Independent Declaration on the Environment” to support the UN’s good intentions and help prevent the talks being stalled or sidelined by powerful governments.

It was as a result of the Stockholm Conference that the UN established the United Nations Environment Program and national governments began to create ministries for the environment.

Since that time, our teacher Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh continued to teach extensively, speaking out for the protection of the earth and the importance of following a “global ethic” to safeguard our planet.

He has transmitted the 5 Mindfulness Trainings to over 100,000 men and women, and over 4,000 have received the 14 Mindfulness Trainings . Each person makes a vow to contribute to building a small beloved community (“sangha”) near their home, and to live in a compassionate way to protect all species on Earth as the many thousand arms of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

The Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh was asked what we need to do to save our world. “What we most need to do,” he replied, “is to hear within us the sound of the earth crying.”

Forty-four years since the UN’s Stockholm Conference, Mother Earth’s condition continues to degenerate, and today she is in desperate need of our engaged, compassionate action. For billions of years different life-forms have been evolving together and nourishing each other on Earth in harmonious equilibrium.

But now, humankind is destroying this balance, and Mother Earth is crying out in pain. Can you hear that your mother is dying?

Can you hear the cry of Mother Earth:

Please wake up, my children, and see what you are doing. Your atomic bombs have laid waste to billions of precious lives, even the most fragile life forms and micro-organisms, across vast swathes of silent desert and open ocean. You have cut down and set fire to my forests, and poured toxins into my atmosphere and waters. You have sliced out my mountains and precious earth to search for fossil fuels, gold and bauxite.

Your nuclear power plants, and factories of chemicals and steel have released radioactive waste into my waters and poisoned my earth. My body reeking and twisting with pain has brought forth storms and tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. I am a living earth and my quakes and volcanoes express my life-force, and my pain.

Today I am suffocating in the deep waters off the coast of Viet Nam. Billions of fish, dolphins, sharks, shrimps, crabs, and exotic rare species from the depths of the ocean, have been washed ashore, dead and lifeless, across 140 miles of coastline in Vietnam, from Ha Tinh along the coast of Quang Binh, and the coasts of Thua Thien and Da Nang Quang Nam.

What terrible poisons have you poured in my waters? There is only one great ocean and poison in one ocean is poison in my whole body. The South China Sea is also the Pacific Ocean, it is the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

My dear children, please listen! These beautiful fish are also your brothers and sisters, they are also crying for your help. If living species in the oceans are dying, how long will you last? Please remember, my beloved ones, that you cannot take any steel, gold and bauxite with you when you die.

Our Mother Earth has been crying out for so long. She has never stopped giving us whatever we needed: food, water and shelter, allowing us to flourish in her abundance, never asking for anything in return. But now she asks for our support, our love, our action. We have allowed our alienation and greed to dominate our lives to the detriment and exploitation of our Mother.

Many of us have forgotten that we are one with the Earth. The Earth is not a separate entity from us. We are part of the Earth, and the Earth is part of us. The Earth is not a resource for us to exploit at our will. The Earth is us; we are intimately interconnected with the Earth, just as we inter-are with all other species on Earth, too. Our spiritual ancestors have taught us about the law of interdependent co-arising: this is because that is. We are here because the Earth is here. All species are our brothers and sisters; we are all children of the Earth.

When we see our deep interbeing with the Earth and with all species, we will see what to do—and what to stop doing—to help the situation. We will have the clarity and compassion we need to help change the situation, so that a future can be possible for us all.

Yes, humans and societies need to develop and progress. But at what cost? We call our political leaders all over the planet, our civil servants, and especially our corporate leaders to stop and look deeply at our behavior. Our industries and corporations are destroying the very fabric that makes life possible and beautiful. We must make adjustments to the cries of Mother Earth.

Each one of us can take action in concrete ways.

1. Recognize that what we choose to eat greatly impacts our personal health, the distribution of wealth and resources, and the global environment. We can go closer to a vegan diet as recommended by a recent study by the National Academy of Sciences to reduce our impact on climate change and global pollution, and nourish not only our health but our compassion. We can commit to reducing our meat consumption by 50%, or to not eating meat and dairy products 15 days a month.

2. Recognize that environmental ills are inherently linked to human ills. We should look deeply at our lifestyle and make changes to reduce our consumption and simplify our life. Greed is a byproduct of an individualistic and materialistic way of looking the world. It has become rampant and is a major cause of the imbalances on our planet. Each one of us can support efforts to alleviate inequities wherever we live and between affluent northern hemisphere societies and southern ones.

3. Recognize that there are alternative renewable energy sources. We can encourage governments to find sustainable energy sources and transition away from nuclear and fossil fuels. It is possible to develop society and industry in new ways, and not at the cost of Mother Earth and numerous species on land and in the ocean, nor at the cost of the wellbeing of future generations. Nuclear waste, whether hidden beneath the earth or exposed, is a toxic cancer to our planet. We will be paying for the luxuries of today with sicknesses tomorrow. Each one of us can make efforts to reduce our personal consumption of energy, in terms of electricity, water, transportation, and the products we buy every day.

4. Recognize that the meat and agricultural industries are a major cause of environmental degradation. We must encourage governments to adopt sustainable development practices to minimize waste and pollution caused by cultivating, processing and transporting meat and fish, and to move away from meat and fish production, which are not sustainable food sources for a growing global population.

Sister Chân Không (Cao Ngọc Phượng) Eldest Sister of the Order of Interbeing, on behalf of the 4,217 monastic and lay members of the Order

May you all enjoy the beautiful colors of spring, the fragrant Summer breeze and glowing sun, the gold and crimson leaves of autumn, and the cool, beautiful light of winter. May you remember also that every being with whom we share this beautiful planet is also a precious gem. May you enjoy everyone around you and not wait until it is too late, until everything is nothing more than a dream.

Keep Reading

Engaged Buddhism / How to Be Engaged without Becoming Entangled

Photos / Biennial June Retreat 2024

Anger, Despair & Burnout: A Dialogue

Ancient Path for Modern Times: Applied Buddhist Ethics & Generating Peace

Join the conversation.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Log In / Register

What is mindfulness.

Thich Nhat Hanh January 15, 2020

There was a problem reporting this post.

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

• Mention this member in posts
• Message this member

Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content

Sofo Archon

Sofo Archon is a writer and speaker inspiring personal and social change.

Mother Earth is Suffering. Why Do We Keep on Abusing Her?

By sofo archon.

For millennia we humans have been seeing the Earth as our mother.

Mother Earth is the one who provides us with everything we need to sustain ourselves. And she does so unconditionally, without asking anything in return. She gives us freely all that she has with no second thought, just like any loving mother would to nurture and protect her offspring.

And we, just like children dependent on their mother, take from the Earth what we can to satisfy our needs. In fact, in the current, rather immature stage of our development, we take from her way more than we require — and at her expense.

Mother Earth’s boundless generosity has never led us to consider the sacrifices she has to make to offer us her gifts. So, we keep on taking from her without end, never stopping for a moment to question the impacts of our childish behavior. If we did, we’d be shocked to tears.

Can You Hear the Cries of the Earth?

The damage that we’ve caused to our common mother is beyond measure.

Deforestation. Soil erosion. Pollution. Climate change. Biodiversity loss.

And the list goes on and on.

The other week I read a report on the Earth’s declining biodiversity stating that about 60 percent of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been wiped out due to human activity since 1970.

And just today I read a story about a whale that was recently found dead in the Philippines after swallowing over 40 kilograms (that is, approximately 88 pounds) of plastic bags. Mind you, this is only one of the hundreds of thousands of whales — as well as dolphins, seals and turtles — that are killed by ocean plastic pollution each year.

This is not an actual whale, but an art installation that raises awareness about how so many whales die — or, to be more precise — are killed by humans.

Nearly every single day I hear such heartbreaking news. That’s because we’re constantly hurting our Great Mother. And although she’s crying in pain, most of us don’t hear her cries. In fact, we’re so fixated on ourselves that we don’t hear her at all.

All we worry about is maximizing what the founding father of modern capitalism Adam Smith called our rational self-interest . How we can acquire more stuff. How we can increase our bank account. How we can convert natural resources into products.

So it’s not that we consciously choose to hurt the Earth — on the contrary, we are mindless of our abusive behavior. But as the damage increases and expands, we slowly come to feel its consequences on our lives. We feel it in the water we drink. In the food we eat. In the air we breathe. Because of that, lately more and more of us begin to realize that what we’re doing to the Earth, we’re indirectly doing to ourselves.

A Change of Heart

For decades, environmentalists have been shouting from the rooftops about the dire importance of protecting our planet. If we don’t protect it, they warn us, we’re going to suffer and quite possibly die. However, despite their continuous efforts to persuade us to change the way we treat the biosphere, they’ve failed to achieve their goal.

The core focus of the environmental movement has so far been ourselves, not the Earth. The indirect message it’s sending to the world is: “Don’t care about the Earth because she’s inherently important and deserves our love and protection; care for her only because your survival is at threat.”

Here’s how the cunning mind thinks: “Help others, not for their own sake, but because you want them to help you back. And if they stop helping you or you don’t need their help anymore, there’s no point in continuing to help them.” This is like saying: “Care for your mother only as long as you need her. Once she reaches an old age and has nothing left to offer you, why waste your time and energy caring for her? There’s absolutely no point — she’ll die soon anyway.”

If you heard someone talking this way about his mother, you’d think that there’s something terribly wrong with him or his relationship to the very person that brought him to life. But this is exactly how we think about Mother Earth. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the environmental movement has failed. To succeed, it needs to take an entirely different approach — that of inspiring love towards the Earth. That’s because to truly care about the Earth — or any living being on it — we need to connect with it through our heart. Otherwise, our care won’t be sincere, and when care isn’t sincere it can’t be effective.

Until now, the fear of our own survival has been our prime motivation for caring about the Earth. But fear isn’t a great catalyst for change. To see real, lasting change, we need to start loving the Earth. Then we’ll genuinely care for her — not because of egoistic reasons, but because we wish to see her well.

Giving Back to Mother Earth

When we were children, we took and took and took from our mother. But as we grew older and became adults, we began to understand that a healthy relationship can’t be built on the foundation of receiving alone, but on a combination of receiving and giving.

We fully realized this when we fell in love with someone for the first time. When we’re in love, we don’t want to just receive love from our beloved one, but to also offer our love back to him or her. We find tremendous joy and satisfaction in both giving and receiving love. And if we reach a stage in our relationship where receiving isn’t balanced out by giving (or vice versa), we soon find out that it has turned toxic.

Humanity is currently transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Until now, we’ve been constantly taking from Mother Earth without giving her nearly anything back. But as we develop and mature, we come to realize how imbalanced our relationship with her has been because of our unwillingness to reciprocate her gifts. And eventually, when we enter adulthood, we’ll want to give back to Mother Earth for everything she has openhandedly offered us. Then, our cold, distant and abusive relationship will transform into a love relationship based on sharing and mutual support.

Further reading:

• Why We Feel Separate from Nature
• Do You Feel the Pain of the World?
• How Economic Growth is Killing Our Planet

JOIN OVER 400,000 READERS : YOUTUBE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

Last updated 27/06/24: Online ordering is currently unavailable due to technical issues. We apologise for any delays responding to customers while we resolve this. For further updates please visit our website: https://www.cambridge.org/news-and-insights/technical-incident

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings .

Login Alert

• > Journals
• > Horizons
• > Volume 21 Issue 1
• > Mother Earth as Metaphor: A Healing Pattern of Grieving...

Article contents

Mother earth as metaphor: a healing pattern of grieving and giving birth.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2014

Mother Earth is often revered as a goddess in world mythology, but seldom recognized as also an important metaphor in the biblical theology of Old and New Testaments. The image of the earth as grieving mother is a recurrent theme, used in Scripture to symbolize the movement from tragedy and loss to the beginnings of hope. It is an image rich in implications for a theological approach to ecological questions, a search for human and sexual wholeness in a technological age, and a study of the relationship of biblical thought to the universal process of mythogenesis. More than this, however, it touches most deeply the human quest for the lost mother and the role of Christ's passion in the renewal of spiritual connectedness to the natural world.

Access options

1 The “Venus of Willendorf,” found in Austria and dating back to ca 20,000 B. C. E., is one of the earliest Earth Mother fertility figures known See Sȷoo , Monico and Mor , Barbara The Great Cosmic: Mother Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth ( San Francisco : Harper & Row , 1987 ) Google Scholar

2 Classic studies of the Mother in world mythology include Dietench , Albrecht , Mutter Erde: Ein Versuch üher Volksreligion ( Leipzig : Tübner , 1905 ) Google Scholar , Briffault , Robert , The Mothers: A Study of the Origins of Sentiments and Institutions ( London : George Allen & Unwin , 1927 ) Google Scholar , Neumann , Erich , The Great Mother ( New York : Pantheon , 1955 ) Google Scholar , van der Leeuw , Gerhardus , Religion in Essence and Manifestation ( New York : Harper & Row , 1963 ), I : 91 – 100 Google Scholar

3 Moltmann , Jürgen , God in Creation ( San Francisco : Harper & Row , 1985 ), 299 Google Scholar

4 The relationship of myth to biblical religion and its potential (as well as its limits) for illumining religious experience are important questions underlying the argument of this essay For a discussion of these questions, see Batto , Bernard F , Slaying the Dragon: Mythmaking in the Biblical Tradition ( Louisville, KY : Westminster/John Knox , 1992 ) Google Scholar , Doty , William G , Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals ( Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press , 1986 ) Google Scholar , Eliade , Mircea , Myth and Reality ( New York : Harper & Row , 1963 ) Google Scholar , Panikkar , Raimundo , Myth, Faith and Hermeneutics ( New York : Paulist , 1979 ) Google Scholar , Lane , Belden C , “ Myth ,” The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality ( Collegeville, MN : Liturgical Press , 1993 ), 692 –95 Google Scholar

5 Patai , Raphael , The Hebrew Goddess ( New York : Ktav , 1967 ) Google Scholar , shows how images of the cosmic mother came to be incorporated into Jewish thought about God, despite the resistance of ancient Israel to its neighboring religious traditions

6 Paper , Jordan , “ Through the Earth Darkly: The Female Spirit in Native American Religions ” in Vecsey , Christopher , ed, Religion in Native North America ( Moscow : University of Idaho Press , 1990 ), 57 Google Scholar

7 Swentzell , Rina and Naranjo , Tito , “ Nurturing: The Gia at Santa Clara Pueblo ,” El Palacio 92 : 1 (Summer-Fall 1986 ) Google Scholar

8 Paper , , “ Through the Earth Darkly ,” 14 Google Scholar

9 Tuan , Yi-Fu , Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience ( Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press , 1977 ), 89 . Google Scholar

10 “Ask the earth and she will tell you that she must mourn for the countless thousands who come to birth upon her. In the beginning all sprang from her, and there are more still to come; yet almost all her children go to perdition, and vast numbers of them are wiped out. Who then, has the better right to be mourning—the earth, which has lost such vast numbers, or you, whose sorrow is for one only?” (II Esdras 10:9-11).

11 Dorothee Sölle describes the linguistic process by which hope emerges from the expression of grief in her book, Suffering ( Philadelphia : Fortress , 1975 ), 61 – 86 . Google Scholar

12 Brueggemann , Walter , The Prophetic Imagination ( Philadelphia : Fortress , 1978 ), 53 Google Scholar , describes the prophet's ministry as one of “articulated grief.”

13 Brueggemann , Walter , Israel's Praise: Doxology Against Idolatry and Ideology ( Philadelphia : Fortress , 1988 ), 42, 58 – 60 . Google Scholar

14 Estes , Clarissa Pinkola , Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype ( New York : Ballantine , 1992 ), 25 – 31 . Google Scholar

15 This tale is echoed in a similar Hopi creation myth from northeast Arizona. See Erdoes , Richard and Ortiz , Alfonso , eds., American Indian Myths and Legends ( New York : Pantheon , 1984 ), 11 – 13 . Google Scholar

16 Julian of Norwich, Showings , ed. Colledge , Edmund and Walsh , James ( New York : Paulist , 1978 ), chap. 60, 297-99. Google Scholar

17 See Nash , James A. , Loving Nature: Ecological Integrity and Christian Responsibility ( Nashville : Abingdon , 1991 ). Google Scholar

18 Merchant , Carolyn , The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution ( San Francisco : Harper & Row , 1980 ), 30 . Google Scholar

19 This needs to be qualified, as René Dubos observes, by the fact that deforestation and overgrazing were problems in the ancient Mediterranean world, despite Greco-Roman religions taking it for granted that animals, trees, rivers, and mountains have deep spiritual significance and deserve respect. See “ Franciscan Conservation versus Benedictine Stewardship ” in David , and Spring , Eileen , eds., Ecology and Religion in History ( New York : Harper & Row , 1974 ), 119 –21. Google Scholar

20 Merchant , , Death of Nature , xv – xix . Google Scholar

21 See Sexon , Michael , “ Myth: The Way We Were or the Way We Are ” in Hall , T. William , ed., Introduction to the Study of Religion ( San Francisco : Harper & Row , 1978 ). Google Scholar

22 Swan , James A , Nature as Teacher and Healer ( New York : Villard Books , 1992 ), 73 Google Scholar

23 Julian of Norwich, Showings , chap 18, 210 See Fox , Matthew , The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance ( San Francisco Harper & Row , 1988 ), 124 Google Scholar

24 Mathews , Caitlm , The Celtic Tradition ( Shaftesbury , Dorset: Element Books , 1989 ), 97 Google Scholar

25 Lovelock , James , The Ages of Gaia ( New York : Norton , 1988 ), 19 . Google Scholar

26 Moltmann , , God in Creation , 5–7, 31 . Google Scholar

27 These can be seen to derive from the Noachic covenant offered in Genesis 9:8-17 and renewed in Hosea 2:18, embracing the whole of creation in God's redemptive plan. See Williams , George H. , “ Christian Attitudes Toward Nature ,” Christian Scholar's Review 2 / 2 (Spring 1972 ): 122 –24. Google Scholar

28 Uhlein , Gabriele O.S.F. , ed., Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen ( Santa Fe, NM : Bear , 1982 ), 64 . Google Scholar

29 Estes , , Women Who Run with the Wolves , 25 . Google Scholar

30 According to the Seneca tradition of “the storytelling stone” in western New York, all stories were originally derived from a great speaking stone discovered in the woods above Canandaigua Lake. It was through this stone that the earth first spoke.

31 Gill , Sam , Mother Earth ( Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1987 ). Google Scholar

32 Diamond , See Irene and Orenstein , Gloria F. , eds., Reweaving the Earth: The Emergence of Ecofeminism ( San Francisco : Sierra Club Books , 1990 ). Google Scholar

33 de Chardin , Pierre Teilhard , Hymn of the Universe ( New York : Harper & Row , 1961 ), 68 – 71 . Google Scholar

34 Julian of Norwich, Showings , chap. 5, 183.

35 Morrison , Toni , Beloved ( New York : Knopf , 1987 ), 88 – 89 Google Scholar

36 See Estes , , Women Who Run with the Wolves , 29, 196 . Google Scholar

No CrossRef data available.

View all Google Scholar citations for this article.

Save article to Kindle

To save this article to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle .

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

• Volume 21, Issue 1
• Belden C. Lane (a1)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0360966900027900

Save article to Dropbox

To save this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Dropbox account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox .

Save article to Google Drive

To save this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Google Drive account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive .

Reply to: Submit a response

- No HTML tags allowed - Web page URLs will display as text only - Lines and paragraphs break automatically - Attachments, images or tables are not permitted

Your details

Your email address will be used in order to notify you when your comment has been reviewed by the moderator and in case the author(s) of the article or the moderator need to contact you directly.

You have entered the maximum number of contributors

Conflicting interests.

Please list any fees and grants from, employment by, consultancy for, shared ownership in or any close relationship with, at any time over the preceding 36 months, any organisation whose interests may be affected by the publication of the response. Please also list any non-financial associations or interests (personal, professional, political, institutional, religious or other) that a reasonable reader would want to know about in relation to the submitted work. This pertains to all the authors of the piece, their spouses or partners.

• About Project
• Testimonials

Business Management Ideas

Essay on Save Mother Earth

List of essays on save mother earth, essay on save mother earth – short essay (essay 1 – 200 words), essay on save mother earth – for kids and children (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on save mother earth – 10 lines on save mother earth written in english (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on save mother earth – for school students (class 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 standard) (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on save mother earth (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on save mother earth – for college and university students (essay 6 – 750 words), essay on save mother earth – long essay on “save mother earth” (essay 7 – 1000 words).

Save Mother Earth is the popular slogan that creates awareness about saving the Earth from destruction. We all know that Earth is the only planet that has life on it.

As of now, it is clear that this planet has been a gift for us humans and other living things that have all the facilities we need, naturally. From air to water to food, everything is provided to us by Earth and thus we call it Mother Earth. Had it not been the beautiful environment and the availability of resources on the earth we could not have existed.

But, what have we done to our mother earth? We have exploited earth for our own interests and today the planet we call our mother, faces the threat of extinction of life on its soil just because of our ill practices. The pollution levels are an all-time high, the resources are fast depleting. We must have adequate measures in place to save our mother earth.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Standard).

Introduction:

The predicament of the present situation calls us to save Mother Earth. From the earliest hunting age to the current technological age, man has had a definite impact on the environment. He had been exploiting natural resources to achieve economic growth. Without plans to replenish them, it has caused serious damage to Earth.

How to Save Mother Earth:

Personal Level:

The responsibility to save Mother Earth starts from personal level. In our daily activities, though we could afford, we should restrain ourselves from using energy excessively. Simple decisions to reduce the use of water, electricity, transportation etc., could mean a lot in this direction. By being a model to others in our activities, we can bring about the required social change.

Corporate Level:

Governments across countries and stakeholders are creating the awareness to save Mother Earth. Afforestation, rain water harvesting, recycling waste, cutting industrial pollution etc., are some efforts of the various Governments. Observing International Earth Day and Earth Hour every year generates sensitivity to the issue. The Paris Agreement of 2015 is the latest corporate step to keep the damages to the earth in check.

Conclusion :

A Mother is the source of life. Causing a mother to suffer cuts the life supply due to the child. So, to save Mother Earth is to save us children, in turn. With our combined efforts, it is possible to restore her former resources and glory. In the process, we would also contribute to the welfare of the future generations.

The present state of the earth has become extremely challenging to the healthy and continual existence of this earth and life, as we know it is due to the air pollution, toxic environment, global warming, water pollution, deforestation and a host of other environmental problems. There are many ways we can use to save the earth.

Saving our planet largely depends on the good habit and dedication of all of us doing our part and contributing our best to saving the earth. The development and use of technologies that is environmental friendly so that we would not harm the mother earth. We should try to embrace the reduction in usage of things that are harmful to the environment, employ the re-usage and also the recycle of goods and things so that a lesser amount of wastes can be generated.

A lot of people employ the use of a mix of house cleansers to keep the house disinfected and clean. Neglecting the fact that a lot of the chemicals used in most of these house cleansers are extremely dangerous to soil, water and air.

We should find out and discover the constituents of all the products we use in our daily activities and try as much as possible to use only products that are eco-friendly. Commercial industries are leading contributors to global warming and various forms of pollution like air pollution, soil pollution, water pollution and others. Government made laws, regulations and rules should be put in place to help battle pollution and also global warming.

Save Mother Earth is the popular slogan that creates awareness about saving the Earth from destruction. We all know that Earth is the only planet that has life on it. As of now, it is clear that this planet has been a gift for us humans and other living things that have all the facilities we need, naturally. From air to water to food, everything is provided to us by Earth and thus we call it Mother Earth.

We are exploiting our so-called Mother Earth for many years by using its resources vulgarly and without giving back anything for its further growth. For example, to live we are exploiting many lands by cutting down trees to build home, industry and more. But we don’t bother about the destroyed trees or plants and we don’t bother about planting them again. We pollute the atmosphere through vehicles and industries, then we live our future being diseased. It high time that we realize the need to save mother Earth.

To deal with the above problems and to save Mother Earth, we need to adopt various measures of conservation. Ways to save Mother Earth includes planting more and more trees, using renewable sources of energy, reducing the wastage of water, saving electricity, reducing the use of plastic, conservation of non-renewable resources, conserving the different flora and faunas, taking steps to reduce pollution, etc.

Creating awareness among the public through different programs, dramas, etc., can also be helpful to save Mother Earth.

To save our Mother earth, it is important to move on to a more sustainable way of living. Sustainable means we should keep the resources and use them wisely keeping in mind that our future generations should also be getting a part of it. This type of thought will help us to use nature, care for it more and ultimately save Mother Earth.

Our beautiful planet Earth is 4.543 billion years old. Arguably, it is the only planet which has thriving life. Scientists around the world claim that the Earth has moulded itself, such that different living species can thrive on it and hence aptly it is called as the Mother Earth.

Grave Issues:

Every year 22 nd April is celebrated as the ‘Earth Day’ to create awareness on environmental issues. But it is indeed a matter of serious concern that our planet is facing large scale issues for its survival. The cradle of life on Earth is Oxygen and it is provided by the lush green trees. The biggest menace in recent times is the rapid deforestation that has resulted in colossal climate change. Horrendous calamities like Tsunami, typhoons, volcano eruption, drought, sudden downpour of heavy rainfall and many more are witnessing around the year.

The resilient shield of our planet that protects us from harmful UV rays coming from the Sun is the Ozone Layer in the Stratosphere of our atmosphere. Greenhouse gasses released from the Earth are damaging the Ozone layer by creating Black Holes. So many beautiful species of Animals and Birds like the Indian Cheetah and the Pink headed Duck are extinct due to heavy hunting and human intrusion in wildlife. The National Animal of India, the Bengal Tiger is on the brink of extinction.

Measures to be taken:

Stringent measures must be adopted to save our planet from the havoc created by climate change. In India mostly all of the Forests are under government jurisdiction of the Central and State Forest Departments. The Indian Government has enforced various projects for forest conservation and projects like the SAVE TIGER PROJECT for Conservation of wild animals. The Green India Mission, (nodal agency MoEFCC), is launched under the National Action Plan for Climate Change NAPCC to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The Swatch Bharat Abhiyan embarked on October 2, 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi has been the biggest cleanliness drive ever undertaken in India. To save the environment Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi gave the edifying mantra ‘Pehle Shauchalaya, Phir Devalaya’ (first toilets, then temples) to encourage hygienic practices. Various NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) in India are actively working to educate common people on environment preservation.

Conclusion:

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and one another”. All Indians must pledge to contribute in every way possible by adopting environmentally friendly lifestyle to conserve the environment and save Mother Earth.

Which planet do you consider as the most beautiful planet in our solar system? For most of us, the answer to this question would be our own planet Earth. Such is the beauty of the Earth that is has allowed so much life to originate and sustain on its soil. For India, especially Earth is regarded not just as a planet alone, but it is treated as our mother. But do we really care about our mother as we should really do? Are we not responsible for the deteriorating resources and condition of our mother Earth?

Why should we save our mother earth?

Our planet is vital for our survival. Had it not been for the abundant resources available on Earth along with the adequate atmosphere containing gases, especially oxygen and carbon-dioxide, we would not have been able to flourish on this planet. Therefore, should we not be instrumental in saving our mother Earth when it is fighting for its existence and that due to our own misdeeds?

What led to the damage on the earth?

In the older times, individuals were not associated with damaging works, so there was no dread of contamination and other ecological issues. After the steady growth in the population, individuals began creating urban communities and ventures for the advanced way of life and simple life for everybody. For industrialization, man got the hang of abusing the common assets past the limit.

Individuals got engaged with deforestation which brought about the elimination of different wild creatures, contamination, and a dangerous global warming. Because of the unnatural weather change, the defensive ozone layer got a gap, ascend in ocean level, liquefying of ice tops of Antarctica and Greenland, and so on negative changes happened.

Measures to Save the Earth:

There are different simple ways which can be useful in saving our mother earth. We should spare woods through afforestation and reforestation. Plants are the most essential need of life whether people, creatures or other living things. They give us sustenance, oxygen, protection, fuel, medications, security, and furniture. They are exceptionally important to keep up the regular harmony between condition, atmosphere, climate, and environment. We should also deal with the natural life by halting deforestation and advancing reforestation.

A great number of animal groups and feathered creatures have been wiped out as a result of the annihilation of their environment. They are extremely important to adjust the evolved way of life in nature and save our mother Earth. The favourable conditions available on our mother Earth for our survival have been reduced continuously because of deforestation, industrialization, urbanization, and contamination.

It is affecting the lives through a worldwide temperature alteration and atmosphere changes in light of the release of carbon dioxide and other ozone-harming substances in the atmosphere. There is an urgent requirement to change urban communities into Eco-urban communities to keep up the environmental equalization in the air. The respective governments of the bigger and wealthier nations need to cooperate as well to bring worldwide changes. Then only we can have a better Earth and a better tomorrow for our next generations.

The earth is home for all of us and it is our responsibility to ensure that it is sustained and minded. Earth has been termed “mother nature” or “mother earth” basically because of its productive, nurturing and life-giving nature, which is complimentary to the roles of a mother. The earth is kind to humans but humans are ungrateful and they return unkindness to it by destroying it.

Destruction of nature was first observed in early 19 th century and it has been progressive and extensive such that campaigns like “save mother earth” have been initiated. The destruction in nature began with the industrialization and modernization, whose processes caused a change in the physical and biological nature of the earth and the ecosystem. Through modernization, natural habitats have been destroyed in attempts to come up with modern structures. Pollution is generally due to human activity. Since humans cause the destruction of Mother Earth, they should be equally responsible for saving Mother Earth.

The Importance of Saving Mother Earth:

In as much as the destruction of earth affects the animate and the inanimate objects on the surface of the earth and it is important that nature is restored. The earth is all we have, without it, life would not be imaginable. The beauty of nature is what we live for as humans. Imagine the sunrise you smile at in the morning gone or the oceans waves that give you peace all gone? It would be very ugly out there and nothing to admire as nature is gone. In the campaign to save mother earth, the ultimate goal is to sustain the remaining nature and restore those that are destructed.

Human life is dependent on breathing fresh and clean air. The air pollution that is currently trending shows how much contamination is in the air we breathe. Planting of trees is a way of restoring clean air because more oxygen will be released to the atmosphere by trees as they take in carbon dioxide. It is important to save the earth because of the provisions that help sustain animal and human life especially food and water. Water pollution is a worrying situation because water is an essential life sustaining provision of mother earth.

Ways of Saving Mother Earth:

Efforts made to save mother earth are focused on restoration of nature and mitigation of destruction of nature. In preventing further destruction through pollution of the environment, policies like recycling of all things that can be recycled have been implemented globally. Things like plastic bags and bottles are not biodegradable and therefore disposal is discouraged that is why emphasis on recycling has been made. Conservation of environmental resources through conservative measures. The conservative measures include sparingly using energy and water.

The other way of saving mother earth is through education so that people are aware of the importance of nature, which will motivate them to contribute in the process. It is important to participate in the cleaning actions whereby we do not throw away trash and pick up any trash we find laying around inappropriately. Planting trees is a very effective way of saving the earth because through trees, oxygen is replenished, rain formation is enabled and soil is protected from erosion. Wildlife protection is also a way of preserving nature because wildlife forms a part of the beautiful nature and their existence is important.

The environment occupies majority of the earth and its destruction has been massive over the years. Environmental pollution affects the ecosystem and causes adverse effects to animate and inanimate objects on earth. Environment can be saved by controlling and preventing pollution. The cleaning act can also be implemented so as to get rid of pollutants that are already in the environment.

Undoing the damage of pollution of the environment is a tasking responsibility that is mandatory for the general wellbeing of the earth inhabitants. Through the process of restoring nature, challenges are faced especially in those natural aspects that are somehow impossible to restore e.g., the ozone layer. The ozone layer is destroyed yet restoration does not seem to be made a reality.

In conclusion, the journey to save mother earth is still at its early stages but through the strategies that have been put in place, it is possible to restore Mother Earth and protect it. In the quest to save the earth, further destruction should be prevented so that the efforts made have an impact. The earth basically has everything that sustains our existence and that is why it is important to save it from extinction.

Our earth is our mother. It infuses life within and nourishes us to grow. And in return, asks for nothing but love and care. For the past few decades, harmful human activities have damaged our planet Earth in many ways. The useful natural resources are diminishing at a rapid rate and the living conditions are becoming worse.

More than 3/4th of the earth is covered with water and the rest is land made of various geographical features, such as mountains, valleys, plateaus, etc. There are two types of resources used by human beings.

The renewable resources include the sunlight, wind, soil etc., which are available abundantly. Whereas the non-renewable resources include oil, gas, fossil fuel, coal, forests, metals, and minerals, etc., the supply of which is quite limited.

Human Activities Resulting in Damage to Mother Earth:

1. Man-Made Disasters:

To satisfy our reckless needs and self-interests, we have exhausted most of the non-renewable resources of the earth. As a result, not only we have depleted all these precious energy sources but also degraded the quality of life for other living beings as well. For instance, compensating the fuel needs for the growing population and a countless number of vehicles, many oil wells have been exhausted.

2. Earthquakes and Air Pollution:

The maddening demand for fossil fuels such as coal and ores has led to consistent digging and mining of the land. This is one of the major reasons behind the frequent catastrophic earthquakes. On top of that, the fumes and gases produced by the combustion of these fuels have increased the pollution level in the air and caused global warming at a serious level.

3. Deforestation:

Likewise, the expanding wants of land for inhabitation purposes, for setting up factories, and buildings have resulted in enormous deforestation. More and more trees are being cut to clear the land and build homes. Its negative effects are plenty. Deforestation is leading to loosening of the soil which means higher chances of flood.

4. Extinction of Flora and Fauna Species:

Wild animals have no places to live. As a result, their chances of being hunted or killed also rise. This is the reason, many animal species are becoming extinct. Smaller species like honey bees, butterflies, and birds play an essential role in the survival of human beings. In the absence of vegetation, the number of sparrows and honey bees is falling rapidly.

5. Scarcity of Water:

Diminishing forest areas are responsible for inferior air and disturbed water cycle. Lack of rain creates drought and farmers face a big challenge when it comes to irrigating the crops. This again gives birth to more serious issues such as scarcity of food and clean drinking water.

6. The Use of Toxic Materials:

The widespread dependency on plastic products is nothing less than a curse. Its repercussions are clearly visible now. Plastic is non-degradable and now it has reached everywhere. From the biggest species of whales to cows to the small birds, all have fallen victim to its aftermath.

Measures Taken To Save Our Earth:

To deal with these grave concerns, both developed and developing countries have started taking some major steps. Cancellation of license in case an organization fails to follow the basic guidelines of eco-friendliness is one of them.

1. Afforestation:

A lot of trees are being planted to make up for the lost vegetation. Emphasis is being given on using the natural resources carefully. People are gradually understanding the importance of using natural and renewable resources instead of non-renewable ones.

2. Use of Renewable Resources:

Solar panels, eco-friendly vehicles, recycling the garbage, and minimizing the plastic products are some of them. So many advertisements and popular slogans are being made to create awareness among the common public. If we truly love our mother earth, we must work together without any delay.

3. Water Conservation:

Water is the basis of our lives. And yet so many people in the world have no or negligible access to safe, clean drinking water. In some parts of the world, both men and women have to walk several miles to arrange water for sanitation purposes also.

As far as possible, we should never waste water. We must also teach the younger ones to close the tap when it is not in use or to use the kitchen water in the garden. During the summer season, keep some clean water in a bowl or haudi for the little birds, cows, dogs, and other such creatures.

4. Saving Electricity:

Saving electricity would also help our earth and make it less vulnerable as there is a lesser load on the earth’s natural resources. For this reason, the world celebrates what is known as the Earth Hour on the last Saturday of every March.

People in the world switch off their unnecessary lights together for an hour and display their support in saving the earth. Similarly, Earth Day is also celebrated every year on 22nd April to organize several events showing the urgency of protecting the planet.

5. Awareness in Common Public:

Today, students of all the age groups are being taught about the concept of 3Rs. This 3Rs stand for reduce, reuse, and recycle. In other words, we should reduce consumption and not allow any wastage of things such as food, water, electricity, and fuel, etc.

We should reuse materials such as bottles, old pots, cloth bags, newspapers, wood, old books, etc. And lastly, recycle all the biodegradable and eco-friendly things like an old piece of cloth, peels of vegetables and fruits, old papers, wooden stuff.

Little steps taken by one person can leave a great impact on the health of our planet. Whenever possible, walk to the nearby market. Take the stairs instead of lifts. Get your friends or colleagues to pool a car for going to the office. Be kind to the other creatures also. Plant one tree if not more.

We all should also participate in the volunteer works and make efforts to keep our neighbourhood and planet clean and green. Instead of throwing it away, recycle the kitchen garbage. Remember to arrange for a regular servicing of your vehicles.

Discourage the use of polythenes and other plastic materials. Take a cloth bag when going for grocery shopping. Conserve water and inspire others to do so as well. Save your mother earth!

Earth , Environment

Get FREE Work-at-Home Job Leads Delivered Weekly!

Join more than 50,000 subscribers receiving regular updates! Plus, get a FREE copy of How to Make Money Blogging!

Message from Sophia!

Like this post? Don’t forget to share it!

Here are a few recommended articles for you to read next:

• Essay on Biodiversity
• Essay on Acid Rain
• Essay on Benefits of Planting Trees
• Essay on Soil Pollution

No comments yet.

Leave a reply click here to cancel reply..

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Billionaires

• Donald Trump
• Warren Buffett
• Email Address
• Free Stock Photos
• Keyword Research Tools
• URL Shortener Tools
• WordPress Theme

Book Summaries

• How To Win Friends
• Rich Dad Poor Dad
• The Code of the Extraordinary Mind
• The Luck Factor
• The Millionaire Fastlane
• The ONE Thing
• Think and Grow Rich
• 100 Million Dollar Business
• Business Ideas

Digital Marketing

• Mobile Addiction
• Social Media Addiction
• Computer Addiction
• Drug Addiction
• Internet Addiction
• TV Addiction
• Healthy Habits
• Morning Rituals
• Wake up Early
• Cholesterol
• Reducing Cholesterol
• Fat Loss Diet Plan
• Reducing Hair Fall
• Sleep Apnea
• Weight Loss

Internet Marketing

• Email Marketing

Law of Attraction

• Subconscious Mind
• Vision Board
• Visualization

Law of Vibration

• Professional Life

Motivational Speakers

• Bob Proctor
• Robert Kiyosaki
• Vivek Bindra
• Inner Peace

Productivity

• Not To-do List
• Project Management Software
• Negative Energies

Relationship

• Getting Back Your Ex

Self-help 21 and 14 Days Course

Self-improvement.

• Body Language
• Complainers
• Emotional Intelligence
• Personality

Social Media

• Project Management
• Anik Singal
• Baba Ramdev
• Dwayne Johnson
• Jackie Chan
• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Narendra Modi
• Nikola Tesla
• Sachin Tendulkar
• Sandeep Maheshwari
• Shaqir Hussyin

Website Development

Wisdom post, worlds most.

• Expensive Cars

Our Portals: Gulf Canada USA Italy Gulf UK

Privacy Overview

24/7 writing help on your phone

To install StudyMoose App tap and then “Add to Home Screen”

The Fragility of Our Mother Earth: A Wake-Up Call

Save to my list

Remove from my list

The Menace of Global Warming

The Unbridled Human Impact

Consequences unveiled: a glimpse into the future.

The Fragility of Our Mother Earth: A Wake-Up Call. (2016, Dec 19). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/reviving-mother-nature-essay

"The Fragility of Our Mother Earth: A Wake-Up Call." StudyMoose , 19 Dec 2016, https://studymoose.com/reviving-mother-nature-essay

StudyMoose. (2016). The Fragility of Our Mother Earth: A Wake-Up Call . [Online]. Available at: https://studymoose.com/reviving-mother-nature-essay [Accessed: 30 Jun. 2024]

"The Fragility of Our Mother Earth: A Wake-Up Call." StudyMoose, Dec 19, 2016. Accessed June 30, 2024. https://studymoose.com/reviving-mother-nature-essay

"The Fragility of Our Mother Earth: A Wake-Up Call," StudyMoose , 19-Dec-2016. [Online]. Available: https://studymoose.com/reviving-mother-nature-essay. [Accessed: 30-Jun-2024]

StudyMoose. (2016). The Fragility of Our Mother Earth: A Wake-Up Call . [Online]. Available at: https://studymoose.com/reviving-mother-nature-essay [Accessed: 30-Jun-2024]

• Zaria Forman's Ted Talk: Drawings that Show the Beauty and Fragility of Earth Pages: 2 (475 words)
• The Dangers of Speeding: A Wake-Up Call for Responsible Driving Pages: 2 (534 words)
• The Fragility of Humanity in the Web of Life Pages: 2 (539 words)
• An Exploration of Fragility and Fate in Robert Frost's "Out, Out" Pages: 4 (916 words)
• The Fragility of Life in Virginia Woolf's "The Death of the Moth" Pages: 3 (718 words)
• Symbolism in 'Gravity' by David Leavitt: Life's Fragility and Strength Pages: 3 (679 words)
• The Fragility and Importance of Ecosystems: Comprehensive Exploration Pages: 4 (970 words)
• How to Save Our Mother Earth? Pages: 15 (4304 words)
• Recycle, Save Energy, Save Earth: A Call to Action Pages: 2 (520 words)
• Wake Up Your Consciousness; Bring Peace to The Syrian Civil War Pages: 6 (1693 words)

👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!

Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.

Essay on Responding to the Cry of the Earth

Students are often asked to write an essay on Responding to the Cry of the Earth in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Responding to the Cry of the Earth

Understanding the earth’s cry.

The Earth is our home, and it communicates with us. Its cry is seen in climate change, deforestation, and pollution. We must understand these signs as a plea for help.

As humans, we have a role to play. We can reduce, reuse, and recycle. We can also plant trees and conserve water. These actions can help heal the Earth.

Future Generations

By responding to the Earth’s cry, we secure a better future for generations to come. Let’s act now, for a greener and healthier planet.

250 Words Essay on Responding to the Cry of the Earth

Introduction.

The Earth is crying out for help. Its voice resonates in the melting ice caps, the raging wildfires, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. As the guardians of this planet, it is our responsibility to respond to this cry, to mitigate the damage and ensure a sustainable future.

Understanding the Cry

Responding to the cry.

Responding to the Earth’s cry is a multifaceted task. It includes adopting sustainable practices, reducing our carbon footprint, and promoting biodiversity. Governments, corporations, and individuals need to collaborate to achieve these goals.

Policy and Innovation

Policy changes and technological innovations are crucial in this response. Governments should implement and enforce environmental regulations, while corporations should invest in green technologies and sustainable business models.

Individual Responsibility

Individuals, too, have a significant role to play. Conscious consumption, waste reduction, and active participation in environmental initiatives can make a substantial difference.

The Earth’s cry is a call to action. It is a plea for help from a planet that has given us life and sustenance. By understanding and responding to this cry, we can ensure a healthier and more sustainable future for generations to come.

500 Words Essay on Responding to the Cry of the Earth

The Earth, our home, is in distress. The cry of the Earth is an urgent call to action, a plea for humanity to reassess its relationship with the natural world. This essay explores the significance of responding to the Earth’s cry and the ways we can contribute to its healing.

The Cry of the Earth: Understanding the Crisis

The ethical imperative: our responsibility to respond.

As the dominant species, we have a moral responsibility to respond to the Earth’s cry. The environmental philosopher Aldo Leopold proposed the ‘Land Ethic,’ which suggests that we should extend our community to include the land, the waters, and all the creatures that inhabit them. This philosophy underscores our interconnectedness with the Earth and the ethical imperative to protect it.

Actionable Steps: Responding to the Earth’s Cry

Responding to the Earth’s cry requires both individual and collective action. On a personal level, we can reduce our ecological footprint by adopting sustainable practices such as reducing waste, recycling, conserving water and energy, and choosing plant-based diets. Furthermore, we can actively participate in environmental conservation efforts and advocate for climate justice.

Education: The Key to Change

Education plays a crucial role in responding to the Earth’s cry. Environmental education can foster a sense of stewardship for the planet, encouraging individuals to make environmentally responsible choices. Moreover, it can equip future generations with the knowledge and skills necessary to address environmental challenges.

Responding to the Earth’s cry is not merely about preserving the environment for its own sake. It is about ensuring the survival and well-being of all species, including our own. By acknowledging our interconnectedness with the Earth and taking actionable steps to protect it, we can contribute to a sustainable and equitable future. The cry of the Earth is a call to action, a plea for change. Let us respond with urgency, compassion, and resolve.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Mother Earth Essay

Earth has many natural resources to help people live healthier lives. Mother Earth provides us with air, water, food and shelter. Writing a mother Earth essay helps children know the importance of protecting our planet.

Earth is a planet that hosts life and is inhabited by humans and other living beings. It is made out of rocks, metals, and gases. Earth is the only planet in our solar system where life can sustain and live on. Mother Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is home to more than seven billion people.

The Earth is a vital resource for life. We depend on it to grow plants, trees, and food. When we destroy the planet, we start destroying many things like the environment, our health and other things that help us survive. There are many ways to protect it, such as planting more trees, adopting a sustainable lifestyle etc.

The Earth is an amazing planet with various landscapes, ecosystems, and natural resources. It is essential to preserve them to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same unique beauty that we do now. To ensure this, it is crucial to have conservation programmes across the world. Environmental organisations have been around for decades, trying their best to protect the Earth’s biodiversity and promote environmental awareness.

Save Mother Earth

There are many ways to save this planet. Reducing our plastic consumption is one huge step that doesn’t require a lot of effort. By creating awareness about the consequences of our actions, we can save Mother Earth from global warming and other ecological problems.

The Earth is our home, and we should care for it. Our planet is precarious as a result of global warming, pollution, and a decreasing water level. It’s time to stop being complacent and take action.

Our planet is changing soon, and we need to act quickly. The best way to save Mother Earth is by reducing our carbon footprint. By setting sustainability goals and sticking to them, we can help make a difference in the planet’s health.

Another way to help save the planet is to reduce our carbon emissions. Governments around the world have already adopted various plans and laws to achieve this, but it is not easy.

Today, people are starting to realise their everyday actions that affect the Earth. They also recognise the need to start doing more responsible things to protect their future. Fortunately, there is a way for everyone to make a positive difference in the world: by adopting recycling and other eco-friendly strategies. While going green sounds difficult, it has become easier with advancements in today’s technology.

Frequently Asked Questions on Mother Earth Essay

How to save mother earth.

Saving our planet is everyone’s duty. We can start doing this by segregating wet and dry waste, avoiding mining activities, reducing plastic usage and stopping deforestation.

What are the causes of pollution?

The causes of pollution are industrial emissions, usage of harmful chemicals, plastic usage, mining and agricultural activities, transportation and many more.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

Mother Earth

Mother of all the high-strung poets and singers departed, Mother of all the grass that weaves over their graves the glory of the field, Mother of all the manifold forms of life, deep-bosomed, patient, impassive, Silent brooder and nurse of lyrical joys and sorrows! Out of thee, yea, surely out of the fertile depth below thy breast, Issued in some strange way, thou lying motionless, voiceless, All these songs of nature, rhythmical, passionate, yearning, Coming in music from earth, but not unto earth returning. Dust are the blood-red hearts that beat in time to these measures, Thou hast taken them back to thyself, secretly, irresistibly Drawing the crimson currents of life down, down, down Deep into thy bosom again, as a river is lost in the sand. But the souls of the singers have entered into the songs that revealed them, — Passionate songs, immortal songs of joy and grief and love and longing: Floating from heart to heart of thy children, they echo above thee: Do they not utter thy heart, the voices of those that love thee? Long hadst thou lain like a queen transformed by some old enchantment Into an alien shape, mysterious, beautiful, speechless, Knowing not who thou wert, till the touch of thy Lord and Lover Working within thee awakened the man-child to breathe thy secret. All of thy flowers and birds and forests and flowing waters Are but enchanted forms to embody the life of the spirit; Thou thyself, earth-mother, in mountain and meadow and ocean, Holdest the poem of God, eternal thought and emotion.

Literary Analysis

However,a tinge of sadness permeates the poem at the end of the first stanza in that all the songs and tones come out from the earth, but “not unto earth returning.” The poet describes all the attributes of the earth like that of a good mother: “ Silent brooder and nurse of lyrical joys and sorrows!” He then references its fertility saying, “ All these songs of nature, rhythmical / Coming in music from earth.” The metaphorical language of the second stanza such as, “ Dust are the blood-red hearts that beat in time to these measures, ” makes the tone a bit gloomy, as the poem goes on to state that the earth is “ drawing the crimson currents of life down, down, down. ” However, the tone once again turns optimistic in that “ the souls of the singers have entered into the songs that revealed them.” It states that the poets and singers have died, but their songs and poems are still alive.

Structural Analysis

Guidance for usage of quotes.

“All of thy flowers and birds and forests and flowing waters Are but enchanted forms to embody the life of the spirit; Thou thyself, earth-mother, in mountain and meadow and ocean, Holdest the poem of God, eternal thought and emotion.”

Related posts:

Post navigation.

• SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• DEVELOPMENT & SOCIETY
• PEACE & SECURITY
• HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
• HUMAN RIGHTS

Humanity’s Attachment to Mother Earth

Caring for the Earth and for our environment seems to have been a notion dear to humankind since the dawn of time. Even to this day, many of those societies that are deemed “primitive” for having retained elements of a lifestyle that most human societies abandoned millennia ago exhibit, to some degree, a sense of protection of the Planet.

Nowadays, global climate change and environment and wildlife protection have never been more talked about, with the prospect of humankind irremediably damaging our Home. At the same time, this destruction of our environment is taking its toll on us: some natural resources such as oil, soil and fisheries are being used up, and subsequently conflicts and entrenched hunger are being exacerbated by this scarcity.

Our profligate use of the Planet is backfiring on us psychologically, as if we had a latent need to empathize with Earth’s condition, as if it were a person. Others even dare speak of a “Nature Deficit Disorder” in children.

As a clinical psychologist, I attempt to build theories about human emotions based on contact with individuals. I have been wondering about the implications of seeing the Planet as having a direct, spiritual and psychological relationship with every single one of us. Using the framework of psychoanalysis, symbolisms, and a touch of ecological philosophy, as well as research on ecology, I shall try to offer a perspective on the use of culture in our fight to protect our Earth.

Mother Earth

Symbols and depictions of Earth as a nurturer have been long present in human societies. For example, the Yggdrasil tree from Germanic mythology connects different parts of the world, and is revered by the gods themselves as a source of holiness and a symbol of life and power. In that same mythology, it is from two trees that mankind has been created, from the raw fabric of nature. The Christian Bible holds the creation of our species in the clay, an element born from the soil itself.

The Yggdrasil tree, from Germanic mythology, connects different parts of the world and is revered by the gods themselves as a source of holiness and a symbol of life and power.

Also, it is not uncommon to see the Earth being prayed to, and being invoked, as being the “Mother of Life”, and the mother of all living things in its dominion. Various peoples long to return to her, to her embrace, and bury their bodies in her, tying their souls with her mercy. Indeed, with such a focus on giving life and providing for us, no wonder that across many cultures, fertility deities are goddesses sharing a deep affinity with the Earth. They are portrayed as mothers, answering the prayers of their offspring.

Philosopher Mircea Eliade proposed a reflection about the “Mother Earth”. He compared Earth to the mother, on a symbolic level. Just like the mother, it is the first object of attachment that we encounter in the objective world. Earth holds us like a mother, it nurtures us like a mother does, providing food, chemicals, wood, and answering our every need in a seemingly omnipotent way, akin to the vision an infant has of its all-powerful mother until it has grown enough to fend for itself.

Moreover, clinical experience has demonstrated instances when patients separated from their homeland (immigrant workers, refugees, nomads) exhibit symptoms of depression and anxiety, echoing the situation of a child deprived of its mother’s care. The similarity comes from the feeling of abandonment from the loss of a familiar, known, secure, gratifying object.

Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein theorized, from her observation of babies, that an infant at some stage fears that it has “damaged” its mother by clinging to her and feeding off her, and this causes the child to enter a phase of depression subsequent to so much guilt. This guilt actually allows us to mature enough and form a psyche that can both withstand frustration and develop an ability to feel remorse.

Are we moved enough by the plight of the planet to question ourselves, deal with depression and make amends at the same time?

This would mean that guilt and the ensuing need to “repair” are experienced at the very early moments of our life. While these theories are quite controversial, the central message is that humankind is capable of developing a stable psyche because of our very deep capacity to feel bad about our actions, and to delve into a more ”gentle” identity and accept to make amends by learning, by “being good”, and then by repairing the damage we have caused. As children, we thrive on a “good enough mother” , rather than an all-powerful mother, and the guilt from damaging the mother, by claiming too much from her — in another form of all-powerfulness — is one step towards socialization and the integration of norms and values.

In practice, it is often very apparent in adults how many of their everyday actions have a source in their early interactions with their mothers. In regards to Earth, this is something that is quite apparent too: we do feel deeply moved by the consequences of our use of Earth and our all-powerfulness towards her.

One main question remains though: are we moved enough by the plight of the planet to question ourselves, deal with depression and make amends at the same time? If we are not, we should think of ways to allow ourselves to be moved by those feelings so familiar and yet so terrifying because they force us to confront the possibility that we are in fact powerless and our ultimate fear of becoming victims of something we cannot control at all — the revenge of she who created and fed, and on whom we depend for everything.

Culture as a mediator

Since the times of the ancient Egyptians, and even before, culture and its practice were a means to give hope to humankind by reassuring us about death, the separation from life and its benevolent sources, through rituals and rites. Various civilizations have harvest rites in order to honor the Earth: they have not only ecological and economic benefits, but also psychological ones. By recreating with symbols and reenactments our fantasies of immortality and reunion with the First Object, the Territory of Ultimate Gratifications, we create a psychic phenomenon that comforts us.

Moreover, cultural norms — delivered through the rites of passage and rituals — allow human beings to put a distance between them and topics too painful to deal with at an individual level, such as death and separation. By providing rules through which to respond to these situations, culture both protects and heals; it has the ability to connect with our deepest emotions.

From the Amazonian Yanomani, to the arctic Inuits, to the Namibian San, and even for people in urban areas, deep down we all harbour feelings of belonging to “a land”, and belonging to “the land”. Indeed, attachment to a place, to a scenery, to a soil that has nurtured us for generations, is one of the contributors to our sense of safety and our psychological stability. This need for a locus to lean on is vital to human existence.

Eco-activist and Noble Prize recipient Wangari Maathai was among the most audible voices arguing for a reconsideration of nature as an object deserving dignity and respect, and retribution. Personifying Earth, Maathai seems to be calling for a broader perspective on ecological issues, going beyond the traditional economic worries, and underlining the fight for our humanity and what exactly makes us human, through the fight for our Planet.

From the Amazonian Yanomani, to the arctic Inuits, to the Namibian San, and even for people in urban areas, deep down we all harbour feelings of belonging to “a land”, and belonging to “the land”.

The Chipko movement , led by Indian women, is an interesting example of very concrete activism, drawing on a humanization of nature and ideas of female empowerment. The Chipko movement emerged during the 70s as a form of non-violent ecological activism. Its members gathered to literally hug trees in order to prevent them being cut for industrial use. One of the movement’s supporters is renowned Indian philosopher and eco-feminist Dr. Vandana Shiva . Dr. Shiva linked the concerns of women to those of nature, stating that both were victims of a male-dominated, patriarchal society. In that vision, nature is brought back to its feminine aspect, and through identification with “her”, an emotional movement comes to life, to defend quite worldly causes.

To this day, some cultures of the world have retained a socially enforced protection of nature. That is to say that in their core cultural practices, they showcase ecological “militantism”.  The traditional bamanan society of Mali — among others — have a Totemic cult for every family. Based on one’s last name, people would be required to care for and protect a particular animal species. That allowed for a “quota” of killing in every animal population and actually regulated the biodiversity at the same time. Tales tell of instances when someone would transgress the totem and become “mad” as a curse. This might have been an expression of guilt over the breaking of sacred covenants. This example illustrates a will to interlink the fate of humans with nature, to such an extent that a person would socially or mentally alienate themselves when severing ties with nature.

Lights, camera, inaction

So, how could we use those timeless values with our current cultural productions to cater to our Mother Earth? One obvious medium, as a recent article on the rise of environmental documentaries has suggested, is through film.

French journalist Eric Neuhoff stated in a controversial review of French eco-activist Nicolas Hulot’s documentary Le Syndrome du Titanic that, after watching the movie, he simply wanted to pollute more. The main argument of Neuhoff’s review was that the movie was so disheartening in its depiction of the current global ecological situation that it actually sent out the message that it was too late and that the planet was doomed to die. In that documentary, Hulot chose to show vivid images of major ecological crises and their impact on food (for instance, droughts in Africa), and animals (carcasses in the wild), all the while only scarcely commenting, letting viewers emotionally engage with the matters at hand. Many critics praising the initiative also complained about the overall execution of the movie.

That contrasts with the film Home by Yann Arthus Bertrand , available free online, and its gorgeous images of our home, the Earth. Home garnered massive acclaim from both critics and viewers, as a message of “Love to Earth”, and optimistic affirmation of the need to protect it.

One major risk that all documentaries face is that they join the chorus of constant activism which may become tiresome for audiences after a while. One question we may raise is whether such frontal endeavours are not hindering the appeal to masses in this matter of environmental activism. Home’s message, however great the execution may have been and however legitimate the overall intention was, was deemed quite simplistic at times by critics, in that it mirrored the many, constant political speeches about the need to protect our home.

In integrating culture into the fight for the Earth through movies and other forms of cultural expression such as video games or music, we might have an opportunity to tap into deeper levels of attachment to our planet by speaking directly to our emotions. At present, activism is speaking mainly to rational thoughts about environmental decline and our associated guilt and fear.

Sure, betting on fear might be considered a useful tactic, but it bets on our anxiety towards the unknown. We could bet instead on the gratifying feelings of security and nurturing that lead us to love the Earth, and find our way in vows of love, protection of the Great Mother who we have damaged so much.

Ultimately, however, by appealing to emotions in addition to hard facts, through the magic of our cultural institutions, we can assist communities to find the strength necessary, to be empowered, ecologically savvy individuals, part of a global movement to save our collective mother, Earth. This should include communication through art forms such as cartoons, or video games, that have been categorized as “lowly” for some time. My own experiences as a clinical psychologist involved in “video game therapy” have opened my eyes on the many wonderful uses some superficially simple game may have when used properly.

So, should we be hugging trees to feel better on a psychological level? Maybe in a near future, we will each be put in charge of our own totem that we will have to protect and honour in our everyday life. At the very least, we know that educating individuals from an early age to be aware of nature, by drawing upon our emotional connection to nature and our cultural platforms, has proven useful in human societies before.

Oumar Konare

Oumar Konare is from Mali and is a former intern in the United Nations University Institute for Sustainability and Peace (UNU-ISP). After earning the title of clinical psychologist in France, he is now researching “The function of religion in the Muslim population of Mali” for his Ph.D. thesis. Konare’s interests include religious studies, culture and cultural practices as therapy, psychology in social and political contexts, and ethnic and group identity questions in the modern world.

Related Articles

To Serve the Ecosystems That Serve Us

The Possible Planet

2010 Human Sustainable Development Index

Earth Day 40th Year Special: Give Earth a Chance, Again

I heard mother Earth crying.

I heard mother Earth crying. She was saying, "Please save me from this calamity. Humans are destroying me, killing me and ruining me. 

They don't know I can feel pain too; I have feelings too and I feel everything just like you! 

Humans are selfish, they build factories on my body! 

They kill animals, just for the sake of their taste buds! 

They keep polluting my whole body, by poisonous gases!

They don't know what I can do,   I can kill  them all in a matter of two! 

But the time's not gone, they can still save me, by going eco-friendly!

View the discussion thread.

Related Stories

Let Us Keep It Clean!

Embracing the beauty of nature and the weather

How we help others care for the environment

Addressing the Challenges of Climate Change in Latin America: A Call to Action

C 2019 Voices of Youth. All Rights Reserved. 

MOTHER EARTH IS CRYING

Aug 14, 2021

Ngwa Damaris

Joined Jul 12, 2017

Mother earth is crying; she says the land is polluted. Deforestation is at an alarming rate with hectares of forest being burned and cut each second. The trees hold the soil together and make it difficult for erosion to take place and are also a home for the vast majority of plants and wildlife. Agriculture is a means to feed mankind not to be used as an instrument of deforestation or for the application of harmful fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, pesticides and insecticides. Industries, households and individuals are busy releasing toxic and material waste onto the land thereby increasing the amounts of landfills and lither on the surface of the earth. Furthermore, miners are destroying the land in the form of removing topsoil, bringing waste earth and rocks to the surface and underground coal fires which are emitting toxic gases.

Mother earth is crying; she says the waters are polluted. Sewage, garbage, solid and liquid waste from household, agricultural lands and industries which contain harmful chemicals (lead, mercury, petro chemicals etc) are discharged into water bodies making the water poisonous for aquatic animals and plants. Water bodies get polluted due to oil spill from ships and tankers while travelling. The oil spills hardly dissolves so it pollutes the water by forming thick layers on the water surface. Furthermore, acid rain which is caused by air pollution sends in toxic chemicals into our water bodies. Global warming leads to increase in water temperatures which in turn cause bleaching of coral reefs, death of aquatic plants and animals thereby polluting the water body.

Mother earth is crying; she says the air is polluted. The livestock industry is polluting the air through a number of greenhouse gases they send into the atmosphere through animal waste and unbearable smell for local residents. The increase rate of deforestation is reducing the amount of oxygen in circulation, thereby leading to increase in carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Global warming or increase in temperatures if melting glaciers and releasing toxic gases beneath the glaciers which are not meant in the atmosphere. There are also harmful discharges (carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, sulphur etc) to the air from manufacturing and mining industries. Next is exhaust in the form of soot and other harmful gasses from vehicles and automobiles are major air pollutants in the environment. Furthermore, ammonia based fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides by farmers are unwanted chemicals in the atmosphere. Finally the use of detergents, insecticides, paints for household activities and also a major cause of air pollution.

Mother earth is crying, the ecosystem is collapsing and we are at the verge of extinction. People are sick and dying of many climate related diseases like cancers, malnutrition, cardiovascular diseases etc. There is an annual increase in the number of persons who are displaced and in refugee camps because of natural disaster provoked by climate change plus uncountable deaths. The effects of climate change can be clearly seen on the low rate of agricultural productivity because the land is becoming barren due to land pollution. Scientists are forecasting a 20% increase in world hunger by 2050 due to climate change. We are losing insects, trees, animals and human life which are meant to be working for the ecological wellbeing of the planet. We are losing Mother Earth in the name of making money but we should be rest assured there is no future on a dead planet. I hereby declare a CLIMATE EMMERGENGY!!!!

As a rural woman, a mother to the earth planet and mother to humanity and I won’t let mother earth and humanity continue to cry therefore I choose to be the voice of the voiceless “earth planet”. Firstly, to help kill the livestock industry, I have decided to go vegan and for a start I am cutting 50% of my meat intake and I avoid leather products. Secondly to help counter the problem of deforestation, I plant a number of trees annually and I reduce the amount of writing and tissue paper I use daily. Thirdly i practise vegan organic farming without bush burning .Fourthly, I have reduced the number of light bulbs in my home and the number of electrical appliances at home. I also endeavour to switch off lights and other electrical appliances when they are not in use. In carrying out household chores, I avoid over washing and dirtying clothes and items so that i use less detergents in cleaning and washing. Furthermore, I use more of public transport and bicycles so as to reduce emissions from too many vehicles. And to reduce and manage waste, I use reusable and recyclable items (water bottles, bags, cutlery, plates etc) as well as avoid littering as much as possible. To increase my knowledge on the climate change, I partner with local and international organisations that are fighting for the same course. I also follow organisations on social media, radio and television to be fully aware of the situation of the climate. Lastly, I am an advocate and activist fighting to stop climate change.

As rural African women, mothers to the earth planet and humanity, our culture puts us as farmers, cooks, breadwinners, housemaids, activists and advocates for climate change we have a duty to protect the planet. Women hold more than half of the climate in their hands and hence should rise up and take responsibility for the failing ecosystem.

Saving Mother Earth from Climate Change

• Share this page block

As we approach Earth Day and our celebration of Madre Tierra (Mother Earth), most of us can't help but be concerned about her health and the impacts that climate change is having on her and our own lives.

The Earth is being ravaged by climate change and the evidence is overwhelming . The American Association for the Advancement of Science recently said: “Levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are rising. Temperatures are going up. Springs are arriving earlier. Ice sheets are melting. Sea level is rising. The patterns of rainfall and drought are changing. Heat waves are getting worse, as is extreme precipitation. The oceans are acidifying.”

In 2012, air pollution killed about 7 million people, and last year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned of drastic effects ahead, including food shortages and civil strife in countries already struggling to meet the basic needs of their people. The impacts and the vulnerability of certain regions around the world , especially Latin America are more evident than ever before and only immediate action will help us  to avert even more harmful effects of climate change  to our children’s and grandchildren’s generations.   A recent video by NRDC presents a visual picture of “What Global Warming Looks Like.” Watch it here: http://youtu.be/Bry-Flk2S2c

Fortunately, most Americans want action, now, and the Hispanic community is no exception. A recent poll by NRDC and Latino Decisions found Latinos overwhelmingly want the government and the President to act on the threat of climate change and cut carbon pollution. This national survey found  that 9 out of 10 Latinos in the U.S. support the government and president taking action to combat the threat of climate change  and cut the carbon pollution that drives climate change. Like polls that came before, this poll shows that Hispanics support the development of clean renewable energy sources and understand the importance of balancing economic and business interests with necessary regulations to clean our air and water to protect future generations and ensure a healthier, better future. As the largest minority group – 17% of our nation’s population is of Hispanic descent – we have the ability to move these solutions forward. 

In June 2013, President Obama announced his Climate Action Plan . This plan will substantially cut our nation’s carbon pollution putting in place better fuel efficiency for automobiles, promoting energy efficiency and directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to work closely with states and industry to establish carbon pollution standards for new and existing power plants, which are responsible for 40 percent of the total carbon pollution. This is exactly what the Latino community wants and the message which we are working to deliver to policymakers loud and clear. 

These solutions not only solve the problem, they help to move our country and our economy forward. But moving these solutions forward requires that we voice our support. At Voces our leaders and organizational partners  from the business, medical and public health, and community sectors are prepared to advocate from the halls of Congress and state capitols, on the pages of national and local newspapers, and on the screens of television and computers. Polluters will be actively raising their voices to support continued pollution. Our children will be relying on us to stand up for them. Let’s show them that we are not taking anything for granted or waiting until the earth and its resources are gone. Our moral obligation to future generations and mother earth demands no less of us.

When you sign up, you’ll become a member of NRDC’s Activist Network. We will keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports.

• Search Search

The Cry of Mother Earth: Call to the First Ecosocialist International

The Cry of Mother Earth!

for the ancestors who, with their lives and struggles, plowed the spirit and the strength of what we now call ecosocialism …

CALL TO THE FIRST ECOSOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL! REWEAVING PANGAEA

(The spirits live, the magic continues)

Sanare, Lara, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela October 31 – November 3, 2017

The mourning of Mother Earth calls us. Her cry resounds within us. It is ours. This call echoes her cry. We accept our responsibility. We call respectfully on her behalf because we understand and feel the pain: the voice and the cry of Mother Earth. How can we not respond, when we know that her destruction is our own, of all humanity, of all life?

A social relation imposes the domination of a few over the many, and over life as a whole. It is based on greed, on dispossession, on patriarchy and racism, on the generation and accumulation of profits. The few who dominate obey the illusory fantasy of their power and their insatiable, egotistical consumerism. Theirs is the history of progress, which demands and justifies expansive cycles of exploration, exploitation, exclusion and extermination. It is suicidal course of uncontrollable destruction, which occupies and encompasses our bodies and imaginations.

Ecosocialism is one of the voices which responds to the cry of Mother Earth, one among many convocations which emerge from our territories. Ecosocialism is a calling in which many others are evoked and resound; one of the many ways to name the pain of Mother Earth, which claims us, names us, and challenges us to change.

Thus we call upon ourselves: to liberate Mother Earth and to liberate ourselves: to resist and overcome the social relations that deny and destroy us.

We convoke ourselves with a sense of urgency. Mother Earth is dying. We are not referring to a threat, but recognizing the facts of an ongoing process, the consequences of a suicidal irresponsibility which drags us to the verge of destruction. The social relation of greed – for which there are too many people and not enough planet for the accumulation of profits to continue – has generated a global crisis. A total war against life has been launched in order to eliminate the surplus and to control the scarcity that this social relation have falsely conceived. This system is the only surplus that we must overcome and eliminate. And the only scarcity is the limited recognition that ecosocialism is the original model – that they made us sick with their counter-model; with their alternatives to ways of life based on ancestral principles and practices – which we must now reclaim, with the seeds and crops of the paths to the life we need.

We seem possessed by the greatest of absurdities. We assume that we are separate, distinct from “nature.” This project of death and arrogance makes us all accomplices. In reality, we have been exiled. We need to return, to reintegrate, to once again become daughters and sons of Mother Earth; to be inseparable and interwoven with her. We call upon ourselves to make this return to life a reality.

Who are we calling upon in response to Mother Earth´s cry and call to the First Ecosocialist International?

Here we share our collective criteria to call upon those who will take part in the First Ecosocialist International. In doing so, we also establish criteria for those who will not take part in it.

Those who never accepted exile call upon us: those who have resisted and remained rooted, who have been punished by a conquest which cannot tolerate them. The fact that they are still alive, speaking their languages and maintaining their traditions expresses the greatest and most beautiful capacity of resistance and rebellion in human history. Their survival, in spite of the mistreatment and abuse they have suffered, guides us and calls out to us. They are peoples rooted in their land, indelibly interwoven with Mother Earth. It is these peoples who today confront the greatest risks of extinction.

Those who have returned, who have experienced the desolation of their banishment, and have taken the path home: they too call on us to join them. This is also their place. We need to pay respect to their word and experience by making it our own.

Those of us who, in word and action, in multiple and diverse ways and on different paths, resound with our commitment to return, and who therefore are walking in this common struggle, call upon ourselves to be, as we are certain to become, from and with Mother Earth.

Those of us who know that resistance-rebellion and creating-transforming are inseparable and simultaneous duties, who realize that the social relation which suppresses us has invented this and other false dichotomies by separating and dividing that which must remain united, we call on ourselves to re-establish the unity of what cannot remain divided.

Mother Earth: Those who have remained interwoven; those who were exiled but have now returned; those who have joined in struggle to take the path back to your bosom and wisdom in word and action: we call upon one-another.

We know the biographies and the chronologies of the regime that condemns us to oblivion. We have memorized the scripts and we have learned to forge ourselves to the roles which assign us to classes and castes, places and behaviors, expectations and positions. We hear the anguish, the disagreement, the impotence, and the solitude. We see through the masks and the makeup – they are the bait which tempts us into the trap of permanent fear: the fear which makes us pursue illusions of stability and security; the fear of losing by which we are chained to the inexorable course of defending that which destroys us as individuals and peoples; the fear whose only possible path is obedience and desolation. Thus we convoke ourselves to gather at the First Ecosocialist International, to overcome the social relation that destroys and suppresses us, and to commit ourselves to reach out with respect and reciprocity to those who have not yet accepted the responsibility defend Mother Earth.

We are aware that the few who will take part in the convocation of First Ecosocialist International will not be all of us; indeed that most of us will not be there. Those who will meet in the first encounter of the Ecosocialist International must humbly realize this great limitation and assume an enormous responsibility: to weave a process between and beyond themselves; to carry it on all the required paths towards the liberation of Mother Earth. Although not replaced nor represented, the many absent may count on the commitment and experience of those present to consciously contribute to a movement of movements and a spiral of spirals. We seek neither answers nor leaders, but the weaving of many ways to free ourselves with Mother Earth.

We convene those coming from specific realities where concrete challenges need to be addressed and overcome with the vision of a collective horizon. We will not convene those who subordinate processes and realities to imagined or prescribed landscapes. We recognize that we have been fooled, confused, captured and suppressed in diverse ways and that we need to acknowledge our ambivalences and contradictions. We come together to face and overcome these. We call upon those willing and able to consistently take responsibility for their contradictions and overcome their mistakes.

We call upon those who are braiding theory and practice to come and share their struggles: for freedom from oppression, dispossession and death; for freedom to live, to weave ourselves to life and to Mother Earth.

We recognize that our home is surrounded and infiltrated by those who, captured by the greed that moves a mistaken social order, have the power, the capacity, the means and the need to destroy it and us. This situation urgently demands our wisdom: to propose paths and design plans, to recognize, confront and overcome this threat and aggression with moral and strategic action. To convoke the First Ecosocialist International, we must bring together processes and peoples who cannot be bought, who don’t surrender, who don’t get tired, and who won’t deceive or be deceived.

We have decided to make the most of four days, between the 31st of October and the 3rd of November 2017, to be moved, and to lay the foundations for a short, medium and long-term plan of collective action. We must begin to respond in this short time with the greatest wisdom to achieve maximum impact. Thus we aim to identify and prioritize select processes and individuals, who, responding to the criteria outlined here, will exchange experiences and propose directions. The purpose is not to exclude, but on the contrary, to begin to move forward from solid ground and vision towards inclusion. This initial plan of action will be presented both humbly and firmly as the axis of a spiral whose vocation and commitment is to contribute to compose word and action word in harmony, until all are free from project of death that overwhelms us, until all are interwoven again with Mother Earth.

This is a first step. No person or process can claim ownership or leadership of what shall be done and achieved collectively; we accept this responsibility as a priority. We respond to this calling to the First Ecosocialist International, which is a calling to confront and overcome the challenge of the cry of Mother Earth: To create and transform, to resist and rebel – both far beyond and closer to home than the boundaries of this life-threatening system. To organize ourselves on this shared path to freedom will be our only reward and commitment.

Based on these criteria, we assume the responsibility to call upon a limited number of participants who can realize the work demanded of us. With this call which echoes towards all continents and territories, all peoples, processes and individuals searching to achieve balance and harmony, we are proceeding to convene participants to Abya Yala and Turtle Island. This process begins immediately, promising permanent communication between those of us who have committed ourselves to it.

The spirits embodied themselves in us, suggesting a program which appeals through the portals of being and feeling, with simple and elemental points of entry: to listen to the cry of Mother Earth echoing within ourselves, and to find ourselves with each other in a collective pattern and plan.

If not you, who? (We are who.) If not here, where? (Here is where.) If not now, when? (Now’s the time!)

From the Pluricosmovisionary Commission (Twelve states of Venezuela, ten countries, three continents)

Locals (Monte Carmelo y Sanare, Lara):

Semillero Socialista de Monte Carmelo / Consejo Comunal de Monte Carmelo / Comuna María Teresa Angulo / Asociación de Productores de Monte Carmelo / Cooperativa “La Alianza” de Las Lajitas, / Asociación Civil MonCar / Feria de Consumo Familiar de Monte Carmelo / Colectivo Senderos del Saber de Monte Carmelo / Liceo Bolivariano Benita de Jesús García de Monte Carmelo / Liceo Bolivariano Rural ¨María Teresa Angulo¨ de Bojo / Cooperativa 8 de Marzo de Palo Verde / Sistema de Trueke del Territorio Comunal “Argimiro Gabaldón” de Sanare / Emisora Comunitaria Sanareña 101.9 FM de Sanare / Colectivo de Investigación ¨El Maestro Café¨ de Sanare

Nationals (Venezuela):

Consejo Popular de Resguardo de Semillas “Renato y El Caimán” de Lara / Consejo Popular de Resguardo de Semillas “Los Mintoyes de Mistajá” de Mérida / Consejo Popular de Resguardo de Semillas “Cumbe Adentro” de Yaracuy / Consejo Popular de Resguardo de Semillas “Arawac” de Aragua / Consejo Popular de Resguardo de Semillas “Ancestrales” de Táchira / Diseminadores de Semillas de Lara / Red de Konuker@s Biorregion Oriente / Red de Konuker@s Biorregion Centroccidente / Red de Konuker@s Biorregion Andina / Calendario Productivo Socio Cultural / Escuela Popular de Semillas / Escuela Popular de Piscicultura / MST Venezuela (Movimientos Sociales por el Trueke, la Paz, la Vida y el Ecosocialismo) / Sistema de Trueke Urachiche de Yaracuy / Sistema de Trueke Merideño de Mérida / Sistema de Trueke Paraguachoa de Nueva Esparta / Sistema de Trueke Biorregion Turimiquire (Monagas, Sucre y Anzoátegui) / Comuna “El Maizal” / EPATU KONUKO (Espirales Populares para las Artes y Tradiciones Universales del Konuko) / GREP (Guerilla Republik Venezuela) / FRAV (Frente Revolucionario de Artesanas y Artesanos de Venezuela) Capitulo Mérida / Colectivo Cimarrón de Zulia / Colectivo Oko de Quibor / Estudiantes del IALA (Instituto Latinoamericano de Agroecología “Paulo Freire”) de Barinas / Colectivos, Organizaciones y Movimientos Sociales Venezolanos que hacemos parte de la Red Nacional de Guardianes de Semillas de Venezuela.

Internationals:

United African Alliance Community Center of Tanzania / Africa Mother’s Foundation of Kenya / Kenya Debt Relief Network / Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement of Sri Lanka / Charlotte O’Neal (Black Panthers) of USA / Ecosocialist Horizons of USA / Pueblos en Camino of Puebla, México / CODEPANAL (Comisión de Defensa del Patrimonio Nacional) of Bolivia / Red Universitaria de Ambiente y Salud – Médicos de Pueblos Fumigados, of Argentina / Las y los Liberadores de Uma Kiwe, Norte del Cauca, of Colombia

Guaja/Monte Carmelo, Sanare, Lara, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela October 28th, 2016

The Bolivarian Government of Venezuela

Locals: (Monte Carmelo y Sanare, Lara)

Baquianos del Conocimiento de Monte Carmelo / Panadería La Campesina de Bojo / Asociación de Productores Agroecológicos El Alto de Guarico / Comuna Socialista Sueño de Bolívar / Comuna Kiriwa / Comuna Caimán de Sanare / Comuna Asunción Piñero / Comuna Argimiro Gabaldon / Comuna Un Nuevo Amanecer del Guaical / Comuna Pingano / Comuna Jirajara / Comuna en construcción Santiago Hernández / Comuna Ezequiel Zamora / Comuna Las Quebraditas / Comuna Ciudad de Angostura / Comuna Albarical / Comuna Gran Sabana / Comuna en construcción Miraflores Unidos / Coordinación de Educación del Municipio Andrés Eloy Blanco con todas sus Escuelas y Liceos / Misión Sucre, Misión Robinson y Misión Rivas de A.E.B / Universidad Politécnica Territorial Andrés Eloy Blanco / Universidad Campesina de Venezuela Argimiro Gabaldon / Red de Escuelas Agroecológicas Ezequiel Zamora /

Programa Todas las Manos a la Siembra / Movimiento Todas las Manos a la Siembra / Movimiento Pedagógico Revolucionario / Zona Educativa de Lara / Colectivo Ecosocialista “Chávez Vive” / ASGDRE (Alianza Sexo-Genero Diversa Revolucionaria) / Sistema de Trueke Guatopori Guaicaipuro de Los Teques, Miranda / Trueke Tinaquillo de Cojedes / Sistema de Trueke Kirikire de Los Valles del Tuy, Miranda / Colectivo Maestras Cimarronas de Veroes, Yaracuy / Colectivo ArteBrisa de Mérida / Danza Teatro “Poco a Poco” de El Tocuyo, Lara / Fundación Bosque Macuto de Barquisimeto, Lara / Frente de Resistencia Ecológica de Zulia / Colectivo “La Mancha” / Trenzas Insurgentes (Colectivo de Mujeres Negras, Afrovenezolanas, Afrodescendientes) de Caracas / Circulo de Hombres de Caracas / Colectivo INDIA (Instituto de Investigación y Defensa Integral Autogestionaria) de Caracas / Plataforma Socialista “Golpe de Timón” de Carabobo / A.C. Portavoces del Ambiente (Producción Audiovisual Ambiental) de Cabudare, Lara / Comuna Padre Juan Bautista Briceño, Parroquia Trinidad Samuel (Rural), Municipio Bolivariano G/D Pedro Leon Torres, Lara / Cooperativa El Sabor de mi Tierra Margariteña 321 R.L. de Nueva Esparta / A.C. Tierras y Hombres Libres (Agricultores Ecologistas Ambientalistas) el Vallecito, Mérida / UPF La Granjita del Nono de El Salado, Ejido, Mérida / Centro Nacional de Conservación de los Recursos Fitogenéticos de Maracay, Aragua, Dirección General de Diversidad Biológica, Ministerio del Poder Popular para Ecosocialismo y Aguas / MORAHC (Movimiento de Organizaciones Revolucionarias Ambientalistas y Humanistas de Caricuao) / Colectivo Socioambiental Marahuaka de Caracas / Fundación Reyes de Corazón de Caracas /

La Terre Institute for Community and Ecology (New Orleans, USA) / a new black arts movement (USA) / Urban Art Beat (USA) / Commusaic (Belgium) / the c.i.p.h.e.r. (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya) / Health of Mother Earth Foundation (Nigeria) / Kabetkache Women Development Centre (Nigeria) / Peoples Advancement Centre (Nigeria) / No REDD in Africa Network / Justicia Ambiental (Friends of the Earth, Mozambique) / Young Christians in Action for Development (Togo) / …

To adhere to this convocation (processes, organizations, movements):

[email protected] (Spanish)

[email protected] (English)

This document emerged from “The Calling of the Spirits,” in Monte Carmelo, Lara, Venezuela in October 2016. View photos from this gathering here

We are here to bring the world of ecosocialism to life.

Like Us On Facebook

What might an ecosocialist society look like.

Let’s Save Each Other

Illustration by Stephanie McMillan . Used with permission

The planet is dying faster than we thought

A triple-threat of climate change, biodiversity loss and overpopulation is bearing down on Earth.

Humanity is barreling toward a "ghastly future" of mass extinctions, health crises and constant climate-induced disruptions to society — one that can only be prevented if world leaders start taking environmental threats seriously, scientists warn in a new paper published Jan. 13 in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science .

In the paper, a team of 17 researchers based in the United States, Mexico and Australia describes three major crises facing life on Earth : climate disruption, biodiversity decline and human overconsumption and overpopulation. Citing more than 150 studies, the team argues that these three crises — which are poised only to escalate in the coming decades — put Earth in a more precarious position than most people realize, and could even jeopardize the human race.

The point of the new paper isn't to scold average citizens or warn that all is lost, the authors wrote — but rather, to plainly describe the threats facing our planet so that people (and hopefully political leaders) start taking them seriously and planning mitigating actions, before it's too late.

Related: US could reach 'net-zero' carbon by 2050. Here’s how .

"Ours is not a call to surrender," the authors wrote in their paper. "We aim to provide leaders with a realistic 'cold shower' of the state of the planet that is essential for planning to avoid a ghastly future."

What will that future look like? For starters, the team writes, nature will be a lot lonelier. Since the start of agriculture 11,000 years ago, Earth has lost an estimated 50% of its terrestrial plants and roughly 20% of its animal biodiversity , the authors said, citing two studies, one from 2018 and the other from 2019 . If current trends continue, as many as 1 million of Earth's 7 million to 10 million plant and animal species could face extinction in the near future, according to the new paper.

Such an enormous loss of biodiversity would also disrupt every major ecosystem on the planet, the team wrote, with fewer insects to pollinate plants, fewer plants to filter the air, water and soil, and fewer forests to protect human settlements from floods and other natural disasters, the team wrote.

Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now

Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

Meanwhile, those same phenomena that cause natural disasters are all predicted to become stronger and more frequent due to global climate change . These disasters, coupled with climate-induced droughts and sea-level rise, could mean 1 billion people would become climate refugees by the year 2050, forcing mass migrations that further endanger human lives and disrupt society.

Overpopulation will not make anything easier.

"By 2050, the world population will likely grow to ~9.9 billion, with growth projected by many to continue until well into the next century," the study authors wrote.

This booming growth will exacerbate societal problems like food insecurity, housing insecurity, joblessness, overcrowding and inequality. Larger populations also increase the chances of pandemics , the team wrote; as humans encroach ever farther into wild spaces, the risk of uncovering deadly new zoonotic diseases — like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 — becomes ever greater, according to a study published in September 2020 in the journal World Development .

While we can see and feel the effects of global warming on a daily basis — like record-setting heat across the world and increasingly active hurricane seasons , for instance — the worst effects of these other crises could take decades to become apparent, the team wrote. That delay between cause and effect may be responsible for what the authors call an "utterly inadequate" effort to address these encroaching environmental threats.

"If most of the world's population truly understood and appreciated the magnitude of the crises we summarize here, and the inevitability of worsening conditions, one could logically expect positive changes in politics and policies to match the gravity of the existential threats," the team wrote. "But the opposite is unfolding."

Indeed, just last week a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change revealed that humans have already blown past the global warming targets set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, and we are currently on track to inhabit a world that is 4.1 degrees Fahrenheit (2.3 degrees Celsius) warmer than average global temperatures in the pre-industrial era — slightly more than halfway to the United Nation's "worst-case scenario." Nations have similarly failed to meet basic biodiversity targets set by the U.N. in 2010, the authors note.

Images of melt: Earth's vanishing ice

The reality of climate change: 10 myths busted

Top 10 ways to destroy Earth

The dark future described in this paper is not guaranteed, the authors wrote, so long as world leaders and policymakers start immediately taking the problems before us seriously. Once leaders accept "the gravity of the situation," then the large-scale changes needed to conserve our planet can begin. Those changes must be sweeping, including "the abolition of perpetual economic growth … [and] a rapid exit from fossil-fuel use," the authors wrote. 

But the first step is education.

"It is therefore incumbent on experts in any discipline that deals with the future of the biosphere and human well-being to … avoid sugar-coating the overwhelming challenges ahead and 'tell it like it is,'" the team concluded. "Anything else is misleading at best … potentially lethal for the human enterprise at worst."

Originally published on Live Science.

Brandon is the space/physics editor at Live Science. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest, CBS.com, the Richard Dawkins Foundation website and other outlets. He holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona, with minors in journalism and media arts. He enjoys writing most about space, geoscience and the mysteries of the universe.

Gulf Stream's fate to be decided by climate 'tug-of-war'

Is Earth really getting too hot for people to survive?

Which animals can recognize themselves in the mirror?

The earth’s suffering reflects the cry of the poor, everyone’s cry

By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

In just a few days, world leaders will gather in Glasgow for the 26 th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will take place from 31 October to 12 November. One of its objectives is to “accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.” On the vigil of this important meeting, Vatican News spoke with Professor Veerabhadran Ramanathan, who was the science adviser for the Vatican delegation to COP21 in Paris in 2015. Prof. Ramanathan forecasts that the “bizarre weather” we are currently experiencing will be amplified by 50% if we do not act quickly.

The cry of mother nature

Sometimes dubbed the ‘Pope’s climate scientist,’ Prof Ramanathan wrote his first paper on the changes taking place throughout the world in 1975 when he was thirty-one years old. Back then, he says, “We never talked about this in human terms. We talked about glaciers melting, sea level rising… This change between the warming and the weather extremes became so manifest just in the last ten years.”

“Mother nature,” Prof. Ramanathan says, “is doing her best to tell us, ‘You are hurting me!’ This makes me go back to what Pope Francis said in Laudato si’ and the cry of the earth. We have to hear it. And Pope Francis says the cry of the earth should be heard with the cry of the poor.”

The cry of the earth

In what way is the earth crying out? One of the ways is through the rise in temperature. Prof. Ramanathan says that he published a paper with colleagues in 2018 forecasting that by 2030 the temperature will have risen 1.5 degrees. “That’s just nine years from now. You see, going from 1 to 1.5 is a 50% amplification. Imagine everything we’re experiencing amplified by 50%.”

The rise in temperature touches off changes in weather patterns since the two are in close relationship with each other. Prof. Ramanathan says we are just beginning to see the effects of “global warming, [which] just in the last ten to fifteen years has morphed into a global disruption of the world's weather systems. Everywhere people are experiencing bizarre weather,” the Professor continues. “What is supposed to happen once every thousand years, once every five hundred years, is happening twice in ten years. Generally, the pattern is the dry regions are getting drier, and the wet regions are getting wetter. Wetter would be good if the rainfall came in gentle rain. The wetter is horrible, if it's like the rain we saw in Germany – it just washes away everything, including people.”

Cry of the poor

Prof. Ramanathan admires Pope Francis for having connected the cry of the earth with the cry of the poor. There are concrete, tangible ways, he says, that the “three billion people in the world who have still not discovered fossil fuels” are affected by the change in temperature and weather. “I have talked with Pope Francis about this,” he says. “They are still burning firewood and cow dung and organic waste to meet their basic needs of cooking and heating the home. But they are going to suffer the worst consequences of our love fest with fossil fuels. Most of these three billion are farmers. But they’re not like the western farmers of millions of acres, thousands of acres. Each of them is farming ½ to one acre.”

What this means for the subsistence farmer in India is that “the monsoon rain is coming but it's pouring – when it rains, it pours. So, you ask, ‘What's the problem with that?’ When you have heavy rains, most of the water goes into the ocean. It runs off. And it takes all the nutrients out of the soil.”

Everyone’s cry

It’s not just mother nature, the earth, and the poor who are now crying out. Everyone is now suffering the effects of global warming – the poor, the middle-class, and the wealthy alike. Floodwaters and fires make no distinctions between people and trees. Prof Ramanathan expresses that one of his fears “is that climate change will move into our living rooms just like Covid, affecting everyone.”

“I am particularly thinking about those in their 30s to 50-year range. They’re still living paycheck to paycheck. They’re trying to send their kids to school. When you burn their home... and I am thinking that in another five, ten years insurance companies will go bankrupt, they won’t be able to insure your house. When I say it is going to move into the living room, there are a lot of people who do not have living rooms anymore because of the fires, the floods.”

Changing the cry

We have choices to make, Professor Ramanathan says. We can choose to be like the proverbial frog who does nothing as the temperature of the water in which it is immersed rises till it perishes. “Fortunately, we are a lot smarter than that. We can react. If we are prepared, we can avoid most of the disasters.”

Professor Ramanathan no longer believes behavioral change can do the trick. “It’s just too late for all that, I am sorry to say. We need a major plan to build resilience .” In concrete terms, this means encouraging farmers to adapt their crops to the new weather patterns. “The first thing depends on where you are in this climate hotspot. Are you in the dryer getting dryer, or the wetter getting wetter? If you are in the wetter getting wetter, you have to figure out how to replenish the soil because water is just washing it away.” Taking California as an example of an area in a dryer zone, the Professor says that growing almonds is no longer sustainable. “I don’t see how they are going to survive. But, if they adapt and switch to less water-thirsty crops, they can make it.”

By listening to today’s “climate signs and not the climate signs of ten to fifteen years ago, patterns can be shifted,” he maintains. This requires “global governance of food water. I wouldn’t discuss the food different from water. Water and food are like oxygen in living beings.” In addition, the needs of small-scale farmers also need to be discussed, “not just in terms of efficiency, yield, feeding the world, but also the well-being of these three billion human beings whom we are hurting by the climate change we have unleashed.”

Whose voice will be heard?

The second target is “to bend the curve on emissions .” But, Professor Ramanathan acknowledges that this approach to climate change is highly politicized. Unless it is separated from the political packaging it is wrapped up in right now, it will continue to separate people and create division.

“The only non-political forum I see is churches, temples, synagogues, mosques. All people hear is the political side. Unfortunately, the media has also become polarized on both sides. People have to be educated rapidly and faith-based organizations and leaders can fill the void. Pope Francis started this in Laudato si’ . We’ve held many meetings at the Pontifical Academy where science, faith, and policy formed an alliance. And you Catholics are directly in touch with the pulse of the poor. If you can just persuade 10% of the other 50%, that’s all we need. Then we would elect proper leaders who would take action.”

“I am putting all my eggs into the faith basket”.

Biography: Originally from Chennai in India, Prof. Ramanathan completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in India and then moved to the United States where he received a Doctorate from the State University of New York. He is currently the Edward A. Frieman Endowed Presidential Chair in Climate Sustainability at the University of California San Diego. In October 2004, Pope John Paul II appointed him an  academician  of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here

More upcoming events:

Listen to our podcasts

Subscribe to our newsletters

To get the latest news

Papal audiences

Daily readings

Saint of the day

Search the United Nations

• UN Observances

When Mother Earth sends us a message

Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering. Oceans filling with plastic and turning more acidic. Extreme heat , wildfires and floods, have affected millions of people.

Climate change , man-made changes to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can accelerate the speed of destruction of the planet.

This is the third Mother Earth Day celebrated within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration . Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet - and its people. Restoring our damaged ecosystems will help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction. But we will only succeed if everyone plays a part.

For this International Mother Earth Day, let's remimd ourselves - more than ever - that we need a shift to a more sustainable economy that works for both people and the planet. Let’s promote harmony with nature and the Earth. Join the global movement to restore our world!

Let’s act now

There are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate change, and they are available now, according to the last UN Climate Change report backed by science.

World Environment Situation Room

Data and knowledge on the environment.

UN Environment offers a web gallery where you can access data classified by theme and geographical area that has been transformed into attractive multimedia material to make it more understandable for all users.

Did you know?

• The planet is losing 10 million hectares of forests every year – an area larger than Iceland.
• A healthy ecosystem helps to protect us from these diseases. Biological diversity makes it difficult for pathogens to spread rapidly.
• It is estimated that around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction.

Dialogues with Nature

Do you want me to tell you the truth? It is that I have been given a name which-does not suit me; my name is "Nature", and I am all art.

To commemorate this day, interactive dialogues are held annually at the United Nations. Unfortunately, they will not take place this year, but we invite you to read the Dialogue between the Philosopher Voltaire and Nature in the 18th century.

A strategy for the Ecosystem Restoration

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration provides a great opportunity to revive our natural world amidst the ongoing environmental crisis. While a decade may seem lengthy, scientists emphasize that these next ten years are pivotal in combating climate change and preventing the loss of countless species. Read the ten strategic actions within the UN Decade that can contribute to building a #GenerationRestoration.

Understanding climate change better

We all have a role in climate action. We must work together to meet the commitments of the 2015 Paris Agreement. But... what is exactly climate change and what does the Paris Agreement say? What actions are being taken and who is carrying them out? What are the latest scientific reports on the subject? Are we in time to save Mother Earth? Discover it here .

Why do we mark International Days?

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other UN observances .

Nature is suffering. Mother Earth urges call to action.

Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Australian wild fires, heat records, oceans filling with plastic and the worst locust invasion in Kenya, as well as a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season. Now we face COVID -19, a worldwide health pandemic linked to the health of our ecosystem.

Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet - and its people. Restoring our damaged ecosystems will help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction.

Climate change, man-made changes to nature and disruptions to biodiversity such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production, or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can increase contact and transmission of infectious zoonotic diseases from animals to humans like COVID-19.

The immediate priority is to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but in long-term, it is important to tackle habitat and biodiversity loss. We are in this fight together with our Mother Earth.

https://twitter.com/eu_eeas/status/1385130629336125441/photo/1

Earth Day serves as a conscious reminder of how fragile our planet is and how important it is to protect it, and aims to promote clean living and a healthy, sustainable habitat for people and wildlife alike.

Working together to #RestoreOurEarth

Many important environmental events have happened on Earth Day since 1970, including the recent signing of the Paris Agreement, and Earth Day continues to be a momentous and unifying day each and every year. In fact, amidst the pandemic, a ray of light is shed for Mother Earth this year, as the EU participates in a global Leaders Summit on Climate on Earth Day 2021, convened by the US under the Biden Administration – a historic climate summit and an opportunity for making active progress to Restore Our Earth .

Upcoming events on Biodiversity

The crucial CoP 15 meeting to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China, in October 2021, is expected to adopt a new global framework to protect and restore nature. This is as essential as the Paris Agreement focusing on the climate urgency because nature is our best ally to fight climate.

• Global coalition “#UnitedforBiodiversity”

https://twitter.com/EU_ENV/status/1385161360561119235

In 2020, the EU launched a new global coalition for biodiversity calling for stronger mobilisation in raising awareness about the need to protect biodiversity, ahead of CBD CoP 15. After CoP 15, the focus of the coalition for biodiversity will be on coordinated actions with tangible impact aimed at bending the curve of biodiversity loss.

#EUBeachCleanup for protection of marine biodiversity

In line with CBD CoP 15, the annual global #EUBeachCleanup campaign will this year focus on the theme of marine biodiversity. The campaign aims to raise awareness on the importance of the protection of sealife and the preservation of healthy marine ecosystems and promotes actions that reflect how ocean protection begins at home.

A closer look at some environmental initiatives worldwide

Europe is here: support for the environment in Albania

Albania is distinguished for its rich biological diversity, having one of the richest ecosystems and some of the most abundant water resources in Europe. However over the years uncontrolled urban and rural land planning has caused irreversible damage to its land, sea, rivers, lakes and the ecosystems. The EU has provided financial support to Albania for projects focused on climate and the environment. Find out more in the video.

Women turn to beekeeping and preserve wildlife in Tanzania

Across Tanzania’s Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, more than 1,350 environmentally friendly beehives – hanging from giant baobab and acacia trees – are more than an eye-catcher. Installed by members of Tanzania People & Wildlife’s Women’s Beekeeping Initiative, these environmentally friendly hives help to preserve habitats for big cats and other wildlife while generating a sustainable revenue stream for rural women.

"We've observed increasing numbers of lions along with numerous sightings of leopards and cheetahs over the past several years" - Laly Lichtenfeld, co-founder and CEO of Tanzania People & Wildlife

This project is a part of the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife initiative, which is funded by the EU through its B4Life initiative. The African Wildlife initiative responds to conservation challenges facing key threatened species in sub-Saharan Africa. It delivers tangible results for species, habitats and people. Read the full story.

Beekeeping is also one of the activities being practiced by women in Pemba Island, part of the Zanzibar archipelago off the mainland of Tanzania - together with other activities like tree planting and nurturing kitchen gardens.

"Females were not allowed to participate in any development activity until recently," said Salma Zaharan, a Kiungoni Villager, who also stated that the project has raised awareness of the need to conserve the forests.

Besides empowering women, this makes part of the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+), a European Union flagship initiative which is helping the world's most vulnerable countries to address climate change. Read the full story.

Escazú Agreement for Latin America and the Caribbean

Environmental protection activists in the Latin American and Caribbean region have demanded better access to justice in environmental matters for many years. The entry into force of the new Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Escazu Agreement), negotiated by all thirty-three countries of Latin America and the Caribbean is a welcome step forward in this regard.

At a time when multilateralism is subject to criticism and where nationalist policies are on the rise, it is a hopeful sign that thirty-three American countries are coming together to protect the environment and its defenders. Read more .

Protecting biodiversity in Asia

Like its neighbours, Malaysia suffers from Asia's insatiable appetite for wildlife. In particular, the Endau-Rompin Landscape, one of three source sites in Malaysia where tigers still have a good chance of survival, is under great threat from poaching and extraction. Partners against Wildlife Crime is an EU-funded project which aims to disrupt illicit supply chains of wildlife.

The work in Malaysia focuses on enhancing tiger protection in the Endau-Rompin National Park, and pilot innovative and collaborative initiatives such as community-led patrolling, empowering communities and helping them to contribute in the protection of the biodiversity of their traditional lands.

Similar initiatives in Asia include the protection of turtles in Cambodia and the langur in Laos, to name but a few. 

Meanwhile in India, climate action, clean energy transition and biodiversity are at the heart of the EU-India partnership, with joint actions panning across areas like renewable Energy, water, sustainable urbanization, climate change and more. Today on the occasion of the Earth Day, to encourage the participation of citizens to come forward to take positive action to nurture and restore the earth one step at a time, the EU Delegation to India launches the #LeadTheGreenChange campaign, ahead of the upcoming CBD CoP 15.

Meet Eco MarEU who is in the game to lead the green change!

• EU participates in global Leaders Summit on Climate on Earth Day 2021
• Leaders' Summit on Climate (White House website)
• Earth Day (United Nations website)
• Entry into force of Escazú Agreement on Environmental Matters for Latin America and the Caribbean
• European Green Deal (background information)
• Climate change: what the EU is doing (background information)

MORE STORIES

'Women at the European External Action Service' and the Belgian Foreign Ministry’s 'Women at Work' join forces!

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture 2024

Inauguration of the exhibition “75 Women in 75 Years of Council of Europe History” during the Parliamentary Assembly’s Summer Session

The EU updates its Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict

New package of EU sanctions on Russia

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

Short Story on Save Mother Earth in English For Kids

Reading and telling short story on save mother earth to children from a young age fosters brain, imagination, language and emotions. “Save Mother Earth” is must read for kids because:

This story gives inspiration to kids that they can also make impactful change in society.

Kids will learn how to take care of mother earth and why it's important through the lead character’s approach.

Introduction to the Short Story on Save Mother Earth- Mother Nature

The story Mother Nature is a short story on save earth that portrays a girl who loves mother nature and takes initiative to save mother nature by beautifying it. The article will present a nature short story that will be in a comprehensible language for kids of all ages.

The Origin of the Short Story on Save Mother Earth- Mother Nature

The story “Mother Nature” is written by Naina Joshi from India. The story was written in 2017. It was one of the best stories of the 2nd biannual international short story contest.

Mother Nature Story 

Once there was a little and innocent girl named Sunaina who lived in Uttarakhand’s hilly village named Kumati. Her village was very clean and beautiful- full of greenery. Pine trees surrounded the Kumati village and the people in this village lived in a pollution-free environment. All the pets were loved by their owners and were treated kindly. In the morning birds came to everyone’s house to eat food.

Sunaina loved the nature of the village and always dreamt about mother nature- as a beautiful divine woman. Sunaina always wanted to become as good and beautiful as Mother nature. One day Sunaina topped her class 10th examination and was sent to the country’s capital town Delhi for continuing her studies. After arriving in Delhi, Sunaina noticed that the city is very different from her little village. There were no big trees, no green plants, no flowing rivers, and so birds chirped in the trees and houses. Even the people of Delhi didn’t feed birds.

Sunaina’s school in Delhi is very beautiful and big. She was staying in a hostel. On the day of her school, she was very much excited about her new classmates and teachers. She spent the whole day happily but was very tired and went to sleep as soon as she reached her hostel room. She again saw Mother nature in her dream but this time Mother nature was very different. She was dirty- her dress was torn with uncombed hair, and her nails were untrimmed- as if she was an evil witch. After this dream, Sunaina was very upset and started crying.

The very next day, Sunaina kept thinking about the horrible look of Mother nature and forgetting that dream she painted Mother nature beautifully and put on ornaments in her painting to make her more beautiful. But the next night, Sunaina again dreamed about Mother nature in her sleep. This time she was uglier- looking very ill and devastated. In her dream, Mother nature told Sunaina that her actual ornaments are birds, rivers, trees, flowers, clouds, and butterflies.

The next day, Sunaina was determined to make mother nature more beautiful by planting trees as this is her real ornament. She told her friends and teachers her idea to plant trees in her school grounds and everyone appreciated her initiatives. She formed an eco club with the help of her teachers and the club was determined to make the school campus pollution-free. They planted trees after their classes on the school grounds.

After some months of continuing her planting initiative, the school campus was filled with greeneries. One day Sunaina again saw Mother nature and this time she was looking more beautiful than she ever looked. The dream made Sunaina very happy.

Sunaina Growing a Small Plant

Moral of the Mother Nature Story  

The story teaches us the importance of planting trees, feeding birds, and other animals- most importantly loving and caring for nature. People living in the cities are neglecting mother nature, animals, and birds. They are cutting down big trees, and as a result, the pollution is affecting mother nature. So, we should love our mother nature and make her more beautiful by planting trees and feeding animals and birds.

Notes to Parents  

This Nature story will make your kids more kind and aware of nature and its beauty. You should make them read this beautiful short story to realise the actual beauty of nature.

FAQs on Short Story on Save Mother Earth in English For Kids

1. Where did Sunaina live?

Sunaina lived in a small hilly village of Uttarakhand named Kumati.

2. Why did she come to Delhi?

Sunaina came to Delhi to continue her further studies after she topped her class 10th examination.

3. What difference did Sunaina notice after coming to Delhi?

After coming to Delhi, Sunaina noticed that the city was very different from her village, it was polluted- there were no big trees, greenery, no singing birds, and no one was taking care of birds as the people of her village used to do.

Hearing the Cry of the Earth

The roots of ecotheology and environmental justice at union run deep, and its tendrils and branches reach far. and, in both union’s and the movement’s long history, the cry of the earth is inextricably linked with the cry of the poor., by emily enders odom, m.div. ’90.

For Brigitte Kahl, professor of New Testament at Union since 1998, the seeds of ecojustice were planted, quite literally, during her childhood in post–World War II East Germany. “Growing up poor, we were subsistence gardeners, my mother, my grandmother, my sisters and I,” she says. “Because, as a gardener, you are dependent on the natural world, I was always appalled that nature and theology were a ‘no-go’ in many ways. Nature is pagan, I learned. We have to rule over it rather than taking care of it, as a still widely prevalent interpretation of the biblical ‘mandate to dominate’ in Genesis 1:28 posits—very bad theology!”

A world and a generation away in Brazil, Cláudio Carvalhaes, Ph.D. ’07—who has widely acknowledged Union’s role in his transformation from “a shoeshine boy into a scholar”—also invoked a childhood in poverty. “I grew up in São Paulo in the midst of concrete,” recalls Carvalhaes, associate professor of worship, “and I didn’t know—as I still don’t know—the most elementary things about nature. I just had my mother, who grew up grounded in the earth, talking to plants and singing to them throughout the day and treating them as her babies.”

For recent graduate Katilau Mbindyo, M.Div. ’19—whose journey led her to the U.S. from her native Kenya to pursue her education at Vassar College, Union, and now Harvard’s Ph.D. program—discerning and understanding God’s plan for her life in light of the climate crisis is central to her vocation.

“When the call to seminary came, I realized that just as much as we would need doctors to care for the sick and suffering, we would also need ministers to tend to the soul,” she says. “The question that kept on running through my head was, ‘Who will tend to the spirit as we all stop ignoring what is imminent? Who will be the voice of comfort when we realize that this Earth is the promised gift from God, which we have squandered because bad theology informed us that heaven was elsewhere?’”

At Union, Mbindyo found that she had the freedom to put together her own curriculum, which she designed to honor Black religion, ecoethics, and ecothought. As a student, she chose Union’s interdisciplinary track and designed a concentration in African Spirituality and Ecological Theology.

“After the passing [in 2018] of Dr. [James] Cone, I found myself kind of lost and realized that I had to piece together a Union that would feed my academic endeavors,” Mbindyo says. “I got involved with the Center for Earth Ethics, where I was able to work with Geraldine Ann Patrick Encina and Mindahi Crescencio Bastida Muñoz to learn more about indigenous wisdom. I took Dr. [Aliou] Niang’s Bible and Nature class, as well as a class he taught on African Traditional Religion. … Meeting Dr. Larry Rasmussen [Ph.D. ’70] was also eye-opening to me.”

Ecojustice Pioneers

Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics Emeritus, is widely acknowledged as having launched the study of environmental justice at Union. But he cites other, earlier proponents, namely Roger Shinn, M.Div. ’41, Ph.D. ’51 (d. 2013), whom he says initiated the movement some 20 years before Rasmussen’s own arrival in 1986. “Even when I was a student in the mid-60s, Roger was teaching ‘the limits to growth’ and planetary well-being,” recalls Rasmussen of Shinn, who held the same emeritus title. “Though I left Union in 1969, I remember Roger waving the book The Limits to Growth (1972) in the air when we and others met at Society of Christian Ethics conferences. The premise of the book—and Roger’s mantra—was, ‘You cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet.’ While it was true, it was also ignored. Unending economic growth was orthodoxy, even fundamentalism, and still is, despite the destruction it brings to nature’s economy.”

Shinn and his friend Paul Abrecht, M.Div. ’46 (d. 2005), the church and society staff person for the World Council of Churches (WCC) in the 1960s, collaborated on several WCC projects. With the help of later leadership, their work eventuated in the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation conciliar movement of churches around the world and the emergence of the Justice, Peace, and Creation unit of the WCC. Rasmussen, who served as co-chair of that unit’s commission for 10 years through the ’90s, says that, in a sense, he followed Shinn’s leadership on these WCC issues.

“The WCC was far ahead of its own member churches by linking justice, peace, creation, and sustainability from the 1980s and following,” he says. “The 2015 papal encyclical Laudato Si’ was a more powerful and influential statement; but the WCC had connected the dots well before—the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.” It was, in fact, at the Seventh Assembly of the WCC at Canberra, Australia, in 1991, where Rasmussen and Kahl first met. On that occasion, members of their team visited Borneo to study the problems of rain forest devastation and resistance of indigenous populations. “I still remember how we were shocked in Canberra at what we learned,” says Kahl. “After that, we got motivated, and that’s when Larry started his work on ecojustice at Union, I believe. His Harlem project was a new approach to doing theology.” Kahl’s reference is to Rasmussen’s teaching at Union in the ’90s, with its distinctive attention to what the Big Ten environmental organizations were overlooking—urban ecology and environmental justice. An article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. XLII, #30, April 5, 1996, highlights the fact that Rasmussen’s class took place in New York City neighborhoods with organizations addressing local health/environmental issues, such as West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT)

The Legacy of Bonhoeffer and Cone

Such rootedness and engagement continue into the present day at Union through a variety of classes in ecology and Bible taught by Kahl, Carvalhaes, Niang, John Thatamanil (associate professor of theology and world religions), and others, as well as the collective community’s attention to composting, rooftop gardening, work on the “Green New Deal,” and more.

But the story of environmental justice at Union would not be complete without acknowledging the theologian who anticipated it, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as well as the seminal work of Paul Tillich.

“Without the vocabulary of either ecology or the Anthropocene, Bonhoeffer wrote that an age of unprecedented human power and knowledge that affected everything everywhere had arrived—that’s the Anthropocene,” says Rasmussen. “This unprecedented, pervasive human power requires, for Bonhoeffer, rethinking all the base points of theology for the sake of a new account of human responsibility. ‘Who is God,’ he asks, ‘who is Jesus Christ for us today, what do salvation, redemption, the new life, eschatology, et al., mean in this new epoch? What would liturgy be, a sermon, prayer and Christian practices, etc.?’”

And long before the ecological crisis first burst onto the consciousness of American Protestantism in 1970, Paul Tillich—then teaching at Union—was among the progenitors of Post-World-War II discussions of the interrelationships of religion and nature, and Christianity and ecology. “Nature, Also, Mourns for the Lost Good,” was the title of a chapter in his book, The Shaking of the Foundations (1948). Also in 1948, he wrote, in “Nature and Sacrament,” an essay published in The Protestant Era (1948), “The bread of the sacrament stands for all bread and ultimately for all nature.”

Theologians today—many of them at or formed by Union— are everywhere taking up Bonhoeffer’s and Tillich’s agenda, responding out of their particularity as Black, womanist, Native American, Latinx, LGBTQ+, interfaith, and more. One of the first major statements on Black theology and ecology, “Whose Earth Is It, Anyway?,” was delivered in October 1998 by James Cone (d. 2018), Bill and Judith Moyers Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology, at an international conference on social justice and ecology at Union.

Rasmussen, who organized the conference with Dieter Hessel, recalls asking Cone, not for the first time, to address environmental justice. “Ecology was new territory for him at the time, and he told me he read all summer long in preparation for that address,” says Rasmussen. “It was typical of his discipline, I came to learn. I was deeply moved by his engagement with the issues and the power of his address.”

“People who fight against white racism but fail to connect it to the degradation of the earth are anti-ecological—whether they know it or not,” wrote Cone in his often-anthologized essay, which first appeared in the volume Earth Habitat: Eco-Injustice and the Church’s Response, Dieter Hessel and Larry Rasmussen, editors (Fortress Press, 2001). “People who struggle against environmental degradation but do not incorporate in it a disciplined and sustained fight against white supremacy are racists—whether they acknowledge it or not. The fight for justice cannot be segregated but must be integrated with the fight for life in all its forms.”

A New Approach to Worship

Today’s scholars—with Union at the forefront—are also creating new and different hymns and rituals about the planet. Carvalhaes, whose rituals in both classroom and chapel have garnered national if not worldwide attention, speaks of the impact that plant ecologist, Robin Wall Kimmerer, has had on his life and work. “Since Robin came to Union for a conference when I was on my sabbatical, I was listening to her on YouTube,” says Carvalhaes. “She said, ‘We need to create new rituals; we do not have rituals for this time.’ And when she said that—and because I also deal with rituals—I started crying, saying, ‘My goodness, I need to change.’ And from that day on I decided I needed to change my entire scholarship: I need to change every class that I teach.

In one class that I taught about extractivism, we started to do rituals. In another class about mourning the earth, we were doing the mourning and then creating rituals out of the community.”

New rituals and experiences of worship were also forged by Mbindyo and the other members of the 2018-2019 Chapel Team, which she has called “an ecoministry caucus in its own right.”

“We had our own unique relationship with Earth and the commitment to the liberation of poor and indigenous people, which is probably why almost every chapel that year had to be connected in some way to Earth-centered spirituality,” says Mbindyo. “If we could be outside, we were outside; if we could include fire, water, and earth on the altar, we did so. From Indigenous Peoples Day to the Thursday communion services, to Earth Day, to All Saints Day, to an African traditional ritual led by Professor Niang, to the final chapel which the six of us planned where, in the garden, we gave the final sermon of the school year, it was just a really incredible opportunity to encourage a Christian seminary to worship God’s presence within non-human beings and the elements.”

With the Doomsday Clock now closer to midnight than ever before, theologians, scholars, activists, and practitioners are everywhere raising the stakes.

“We reach for indigenous wisdom and new narratives, institutions, and lifeways just when the margin of error is so small that it generates extinctions on a mass scale,” says Rasmussen, “and we continue to live late-Holocene and fossil-fueled lives. In a word, ours is a very creative, adaptive, and resilient moment in an extremely dangerous time.”

GET THE LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS IN YOUR INBOX! Register Here