Act with Awareness of Life Downstream - Connecting to Genesis

Just as the first three days of creation refer to waters and the atmosphere before dry land emerges, now the animals of water and air precede those of land.

Natural systems have a complex, miraculous ability to keep water mostly clean, from mountain springs to the ocean. In the 1960’s Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was a shock showing how new substances such as DDT were not being handled by the natural mechanisms, but were actually concentrating as they moved up the food pyramid.

There are some encouraging stories in Cradle to Cradle about the redesign of industrial processes to make products that are either food for natural processes (compostable) or food for industrial processes (completely recycled). The authors say we must learn to obey three laws on which all natural systems depend, but that seem forgotten in industrial society: “waste equals food,” "live from current solar income" and "respect diversity."

Resources

Books and Other Non-Internet

Ellen Bernstein, The Splendor of Creation, p. 78-90
McDonough and Braungart, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Organization Web Sites

Jewish Vegetarian Society's web site includes an article, Lag B'Omer and Vegetarianism by Daniel Brook and Richard H. Schwartz. Pollution downstream from feedlots is one of many ecological arguments the article mentions for choosing a meatless diet. One way of honoring Lag B'Omer (in this week of the Omer), the article suggests, is to enjoy a vegetarian meal.

Other Web Materials