2. Conservation and Sustainable Development Religious scriptures
Never does a Muslim plant trees or cultivate land, and birds or men or beasts eat out of them, but that is a charity on his behalf. Hadith of Muslim (Islam)
The earth feels happy in the place where one of the faithful cultivates wheat, grass and fruit, where he waters ground that is dry, or dries out ground that is too wet. Avesta, Vendidad 3.1.4 (Zoroastrianism)
If you do not allow nets with too fine a mesh to be used in large ponds, then there will be more fish and turtles than they can eat; if hatchets and axes are permitted in the forests on the hills only in the proper seasons, then there will be more timber than they can use… This is the first step along the kingly way. Mencius I.A.3 (Confucianism)
One day Honi the Circle-Drawer was journeying on the road when he saw a man planting a carob tree. He asked him, “How long does it take for this tree to bear fruit?” The man replied, “Seventy years.” He then further asked him, “Are you certain that you will live another seventy years?” The man replied, “I found ready grown carob trees in the world; as my ancestors planted these for me, so I too plant these for my children.” Talmud, Taanit 23a (Judaism)
The sacred hoop of any nation is but one of many that together make the great circle of creation. In the center grows a mighty flowering tree of life sheltering all the children of one mother and one father. All life is holy. People native to this land have long lived by the wisdom of the circle, aware that we are part of the Earth and it is part of us. To harm this Earth, precious to God—to upset the balance of the circle—is to heap contempt on its Creator. Therefore, with all our heart and mind, we must restore the balance of the Earth for our grandchildren to the seventh generation. Black Elk (Native American Religion)
The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.’” Leviticus 15.1-4
There is a type of man whose… aim everywhere is to spread mischief through the earth and destroy crops and cattle. But God loves not mischief. Qur’an 2.205
When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat of them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field men that they should be besieged by you? Deuteronomy 20.19
The destruction of vegetable growth is an offense requiring expiation. Pacittiya 11 (Buddhism)
Rajah Koravya had a king banyan tree called Steadfast, and the shade of its widespread branches was cool and lovely. Its shelter broadened to twelve leagues… None guarded its fruit, and none hurt another for its fruit. Now there came a man who ate his fill of fruit, broke down a branch, and went his way. Thought the spirit dwelling in that tree, “How amazing, how astonishing it is, that a man should be so evil as to break off a branch of the tree, after eating his fill. Suppose the tree were to bear no more fruit.” And the tree bore no more fruit. Anguttara Nikaya 3.368 (Buddhism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Nature always seeks balance, and has been doing so unceasingly for billions of years. What about you Americans: are you in balance or not? You waste excessively. Once when I went to a public restroom, I saw someone tear off a long strip of toilet paper and use only the end of it, leaving two-thirds unused on the floor. (339:165, December 20, 2000)
Wasting anything is a sin, from the principled viewpoint. When we were born, we are allotted only a certain amount of material for our use. If we use more than the allotted amount, we are committing sin. We should conserve resources for our posterity. (June 13, 2000)
How to solve environmental pollution is one of the biggest problems facing humanity. According to scientists, once the ozone layer is depleted, humankind will not be able to survive the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Pollution is even changing the climate. We should, therefore, change our lifestyle. We should live a simple life in nature, as people did in the ancient times. We should even go to the bathroom in nature, which recycles human waste as fertilizer, rather than causing pollution to the environment. (203:56, June 14, 1990)
We should not allow animal species to become extinct. We should nurture them and then set them free. Zoos should not just exhibit animals; they should breed them to set free in the wild. We should likewise protect insect species. We should protect and nurture all the species of plants, which are food for animals. We should protect the seeds of the world, that no plant species becomes extinct. (324:118, June 17, 2000)
Already, some species of insects, fish and animals have become extinct. If this phenomenon continues unabated, then in 600 years, or even 300 years, human beings will also become extinct. (326:152, July 7, 2000)
We should raise fish in farms and then let them loose. We can hatch them from eggs like we raise chickens. After letting them loose, we love them, then catch and eat them. The things of creation serve as living offerings to compensate their owner for the love they have received: thus does the creation provide food for people. Now, instead of just catching fish, we should first farm them… Krill is high in protein; it is a good resource that can be food for animals. This foodstuff exists for the sake of humanity. By supplying the world with krill, we can solve the world’s food problems. We can lay water pipelines to the desert and create fish farms. Just as petroleum is brought to the American mainland from Alaska, it should be possible to pipe seawater or freshwater to any place in the world. Amazon River water can be piped to the desert. Then it can be developed for fish farming. We should breed and grow fish with a loving heart, before we eat them. By creating fish farms in the desert, we can also use the water to irrigate the land to grow vegetables and grass. Every year, more land is turning into desert. Through human ingenuity, by establishing fish farms, the desert will become a place of marshes and trees. I am not just thinking small-scale; I envision transforming a huge desert into fish farms that will produce an infinite supply of food. (324:114-15, June 17, 2000)
Solutions to the world’s environmental problems cannot be arrived at through the efforts of scientists alone, or by the efforts of any one individual, organization, or nation… They call for sacrifice and cooperation among all peoples of the world, transcending the interests of any one community or nation. Such a spirit of cooperation will be attained only when all people view themselves as members of the same human family. This revolutionary change in human consciousness has long been needed, and is vital to humanity's survival today. (74:108-09, November 21, 1974) |