By Andrew Hartley
On 21 January, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday. Among the causes championed by this great Christian leader was environmental justice, an important aspect of care for the natural world. It is a tragic injustice, he explained, that those who pollute the least and use the fewest resources are usually those who suffer the most from environmental degradation. That injustice, we might infer, now includes the poor living next to coal-fired power plants, or the Bangladeshis and Vietnamese whose homes and farms are being swallowed by rising oceans.
To MLK, an important aspect of environmental justice was removing threats before people are harmed. He illustrated this concept in terms of the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25f). He noted that, while Christians talk a lot about helping individuals, as did the Samaritan on the road to Jericho, God’s justice calls us to do more, by asking why the road itself is so dangerous. Through life-style choices, and political and social action, followers of Christ must stop adding dangers to the road and, hopefully, even make the road less dangerous. Merely rescuing individual after individual no longer suffices, because as long as we use more than our share of resources and pollute profusely, our lifestyles make that figurative road to Jericho more dangerous.
For example, during and after 2017’s record-breaking season of hurricanes (Harvey, Irma and Maria), our country rescued thousands of people and repaired millions of dollars of property. Yet, year after year, the nation moves to increase storm threats. First, instead of burning less coal, oil and natural gas—to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are already strengthening hurricanes and intensifying rainstorms—the US is even increasing its use of those fuels. Second, we increase flooding risks through our flood zone maps. These maps are supposed to reflect anticipated frequencies and levels of flooding, thereby helping society build infrastructure–like buildings–in safe zones. Nonetheless, they are often drawn more to enhance tax bases and to please business groups, preventing accurate risk assessments. We can be sure that MLK would be disappointed, upon seeing us add environmental dangers to that “road to Jericho.”
My prayer is that we would honor MLK’s environmental legacy, by living simply so others can simply live, and by supporting politicians who promote wise and loving use of God’s creation.
Andrew Hartley
EarthKeeper
Creation Care Team
Elma UMC
Elma NY