In this week’s Acton Commentary I argue that pathos and politics isn’t enough to address the contemporary challenges of environmental stewardship in general and climate change in particular. I point to the necessity to recognize the gifts and responsibilities that God has given to humanity. This includes natural resources like trees and human endowments like ingenuity and creativity.
And in case you think remembering the trees is too basic of an idea, I will say that I once attended an expert talk on climate change that gave “biomass” only a passing reference, and didn’t (as I recall) say anything trees in particular at all. When asked about carbon sequestration, the speaker only mentioned the shells of sea crustaceans and the possibility of pumping carbon back into the ground wells where petroleum was drilled from.
So…remember the trees and the place of forestry in the broader understanding of human stewardship. Or as I also put it, “We do not need to hug trees to properly care for them.”