I have to disagree with Peter Alley’s biblical interpretations. (Just trying to care, Your Letters, August 25) Genesis Chapter 1: verse 28 states that mankind should be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and to have dominion over all the living things that move upon the earth. In later days having dominion has been taken to mean caring for the poor and sick as well as using the elements of nature for our survival. (It has been abused by selfish people but was not in God’s original plan.) We should prevent the moral and physical pollution of our land and uphold justice. This I believe is loving our neighbour as ourself.
There was never a command from God to tax the air we breathe. He only commanded that we pay tax to the governing authorities. (The Romans taxed people so society could function efficiently. The taxes were far less than ours)
The Land Sabbath in Leviticus 25: 4-11 was only for ancient Israel under the old covenant. However, the principle of allowing the land to recover is useful for farmers today. The Matthew 25:40 verse ‘And the King will answer them, Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ is part of the Sheep and Goats parable about the final judgement. The judgement only applies to those that did not help Jesus or His followers. (Jesus had the Scribes and Pharisees in mind when He said this.) The ‘least of these’ are the humblest believers of Christ and true followers of God should treat them the same way that they would treat the Lord. It has nothing to do with the stewardship of God’s creation and the interpretation is totally out of context. Most bible commentators would agree with this.
Drusilla Megget stated in her letter (Don’t be scared of future) that a Spanish power station’s 2000 solar mirrors powered a steam turbine which generated enough electricity for 25,000 households even after the sun had set. This is apparently a small township and not a large metropolis. We need to get our base-load power from the grid as there is no solar energy on cool, cloudy or rainy days. I know this as we have 30 evacuated tubes for hot water and 18 solar panels on our house. We help supply electricity to the grid but still need to put the booster on in winter for a couple of hours even when it has been a sunny day.
It is arguable that it will be six degrees hotter by the end of the century. It was forecast in the ’70s that we were entering another ice-age but it didn’t eventuate. Google ‘eight botched environmental forecasts’ for more information on this. I have concerns about ‘New Scientist’ as it is not really credible that humans produce 99 per cent more CO2 emissions than volcanic eruptions in a year. New Scientist has been criticised as a website because of the unreliability of its scientific material.
I’m not worried about the future of the earth as God is in control of creation but I think being ‘sustainable’ will be detrimental for the poor and aged. It is man-made political stunts and philosophies that will bring hardship to many in our community if we don’t act now.
Lesley Chapman
