This past Christmas season through the community at the Vineyard City Church, I had the opportunity to give through an organization called HEIFER International. These guys do some really great sustainable agricultural industry projects among the worlds poor.
Occasionally I receive updates from HEIFER, and this past month a few of the articles really hit home. As I find myself immersed in the conservation industry I tend to look at global environmental issues with a dull sense of ‘business as usual.’ People tend to want to do the right thing, but they often want to do it from their couch with a click or two on the internet. I am no different, and often fall into the daily groove of what’s quick and easy for me. But I do know, when I take the time to think (much less pray), what is easy for me isn’t always best for the community at large. To work together with other people, in what has become a global mess of connectivity, I often need to do what appears harder for me…and this becomes easier for them. My inner-Frankenstein tells me, ‘Change bad…bacon double cheese burger good.’ You got to love those fun little paradoxes.
I was asked a few weeks ago what were things people could do or begin to think about to influence some beneficial change toward sustainable environmental practices (conservation). With the rising price of fuel we now recognize in more detail how much we drive…but for many of us it has not impacted greatly other portion of our lives (e.g. cable teevee)…yet. That’s not to say entertainment is bad, but it holds a great deal of our attention and resources. Interestingly, for many people, what they EAT has a greater environmental impact than what they DRIVE.
Globally, agriculture may contribute up to one third of the worlds greenhouse-gas emissions, with livestock production alone contributing 18 percent – just 13 percent comes from trucks, cars and other transportation. And to make it complicated…Livestock often provide the only source of nutrition and income for millions of the world’s poor. Have look at these two short articles, and let me know what you think:
The Carbon Hoofprint
From the Farm to Your Table
Occasionally I receive updates from HEIFER, and this past month a few of the articles really hit home. As I find myself immersed in the conservation industry I tend to look at global environmental issues with a dull sense of ‘business as usual.’ People tend to want to do the right thing, but they often want to do it from their couch with a click or two on the internet. I am no different, and often fall into the daily groove of what’s quick and easy for me. But I do know, when I take the time to think (much less pray), what is easy for me isn’t always best for the community at large. To work together with other people, in what has become a global mess of connectivity, I often need to do what appears harder for me…and this becomes easier for them. My inner-Frankenstein tells me, ‘Change bad…bacon double cheese burger good.’ You got to love those fun little paradoxes.
I was asked a few weeks ago what were things people could do or begin to think about to influence some beneficial change toward sustainable environmental practices (conservation). With the rising price of fuel we now recognize in more detail how much we drive…but for many of us it has not impacted greatly other portion of our lives (e.g. cable teevee)…yet. That’s not to say entertainment is bad, but it holds a great deal of our attention and resources. Interestingly, for many people, what they EAT has a greater environmental impact than what they DRIVE.
Globally, agriculture may contribute up to one third of the worlds greenhouse-gas emissions, with livestock production alone contributing 18 percent – just 13 percent comes from trucks, cars and other transportation. And to make it complicated…Livestock often provide the only source of nutrition and income for millions of the world’s poor. Have look at these two short articles, and let me know what you think:
The Carbon Hoofprint
From the Farm to Your Table
What can you do?
- Buy less, waste less.
- Avoid air-freighted and hothouse-grown foods.
- Eat less meat.
- Learn more.
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