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Chinese zi self, private,
personal, natural yes, certainly, really, still,
nevertheless French la conscience de
l'environement to be sensitive to and
aware of one's relationship with one's surroundings
and the external world. Latin conscientia de rerum
natura environmental: from Old
English en (in) + viron (circle); related to Latin
vibrare (to vibrate) awareness: from Gothic "wars"
(watchful) (watchfulness of that which is
vibrant-alive-around you) Spanish conciencia del
medioambiente having a conscience
about the environment
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Do you think we are
facing an environmental crisis? Do you think we have
over-valued individualism and need to consider the
needs of the entire planet? How often do you pause
for a moment of mediation or prayer in response to
the beauty of the earth? What concerns or
worries you the most about the
future?
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BUDDHISM The Buddha taught respect not
only for human beings, but for all living creatures, near
and far, large and small, visible and invisible. Respect for
living beings includes respecting their habitats, refraining
even from needlessly breaking the branches of trees, for
they are the abode of countless beings. Awareness of our
environment arises naturally when we reflect on the
interrelatedness of all living beings. We depend on living
beings for our food, our shelter, and our very life. We are
all linked in a vast and complex web of interrelationships,
where the welfare of ones affects the welfare of the
whole. Let no harm come to living
creatures, for each one values its life just as dearly as we
do our own. Animals are not always as ordinary as they may
seem, either. CHRISTIANITY "O Lord our God, you have put
people in charge of everything you made." - Bible, Psalm
8:6 How All Creatures Cry to God for
Sustenance Yes, all the fish in the
seas, And all feathered fowl in the
air above, All elephants, wolves, and lions
of the forest, All dragons and snakes, and even
little ants, Yea, even air, water, earth, and
fire, Draw their sustenance from Him,
both winter and summer. Every moment this heaven cries
to Him, saying, "O Lord, quit not Thy hold of me
for a moment! The pillar of my being is Thy
aid and protection; The whole is folded up in that
right hand of Thine." And earth cries, "O keep me
fixed and steadfast, Thou who hast placed me on the
top of waters!" All of them are waiting and
expecting His aid, All have learned of Him to
represent their needs. Every prophet extols this
prescription, "Seek ye help with patience and
with prayer." Ho! seek aid of Him, not of
another than Him Seek water in the ocean, not in
a dried-up channel. - Teachings of Rumi. The Masnavi
p.188 Book IV (The purpose of this selection
is to show that all forms of creation, not just humans, come
from God. What God creates, therefore, is sacred and must be
taken care of.)
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Born in Canada, he has become one of the most daring of the environmental activists. He is one of the founders of Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The original Sea Shepherd was a deep water trawler that Watson commissioned as the champion of sea animals that were being hunted into extinction. He scuttled the ship rather than let it be taken over by pirates, and found a cod trawler that he converted into the Sea Shepherd II. Since 1978 he has disrupted government-sanctioned wolf hunts and seal hunts, invented the tactic of tree-spiking to save old-growth forest from lumber companies, rammed Japanese driftnet ships, and confronted Russian whalers on the high seas. He as been arrested, beaten up, pursued by helicopter gunships and nearly killed. He is controversial, complex, and has been denounced as a terrorist by some. However, there is no doubting his passionate defense of whales, seals, seabirds, dolphins, and almost every form of endangered marine species. Future generations will probably consider him a hero. |
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